Kingdom Crossover
by Aureate Cayleaf
Summary: Post Judgement Day. The team has been torn apart, but that can't keep them from trying to rebuild what was lost. Through a series of shared dreams they will find a way to be together no matter how far apart they may be. Disney/NCIS crossovers! Tiva
1. Disclaimer

**Kingdom Crossover**

Initial Author Note and Disclaimer: Obviously, I don't own Disney or NCIS. This project, which I have spent way too much time messing around with, is essentially a character study. I got this stupid, and I do mean stupid in the best way, idea after playing Kingdom Hearts at an unholy hour. Hence the title. But this has absolutely nothing to do with Kingdom Hearts. The only thing it does do is put NCIS characters into Disney movies. Well, for a few sequences I borrowed music from the Broadway version, so if you don't recognize songs/lyrics that's why.

BE FORWARNED: I've taken a lot of liberties here. I'm not exactly following the Disney movies religiously. There are some cosmetic changes that I made after doing extensive cartooning to find a good complement for the NCIS cast without completely loosing the original Disney. Wish my damn scanner was working. Oh well. If anyone wants to upload their version of cartoons of the cast for any section, feel free to send me a link in a review and I'll copy and paste the links in the bottom of the chapter along with the credits for the image. I'm also screwing with the plots a lot. Some stories take entirely different angles than the original, but I tried to keep the basic feel of it in there. At the end of each section I'll explain that a bit. Anyway…what fun would it be if I didn't change it? You could just watch the movies and think of which person fit which role! Maybe when I'm done, you will! Mwahahaha! Let's begin!

WELCOME TO KINGDOM CROSSOVER!!

Song/Chapter Listing

Once Upon a Time in New York City

Why Should I Worry?

Streets of Gold

Good Company

Home

Be Our Guest

If I Can't Love Her

Something There

Beauty and the Beast

Under the Sea

Part of Your World

Poor Unfortunate Souls

Kiss The Girl

Go the Distance

Zero to Hero

I Won't Say

Circle of Life

Just Can't Wait to be King

Chow Down

Be Prepared

Endless Night

Can You Feel the Love Tonight?

He Lives in You

King of Pride Rock

TEASER!

True Love's Kiss

Happy Working Song

How Does She Know?

So Close

Ever After

SNEAK PEEK AT KINGDOM CROSSOVER 2!!!


	2. Once Upon a Time in New York City

Once Upon a Time in New York City

_If it's always once upon a time in New York City_

_Why does Nightfall find you feeling so alone?_

_How could anyone stay stary-eyed_

_When it's raining cats and dogs outside_

_And the rain, it says "now you're on your own?"_

Rain pelted the streets. Rather than a continuous, fine stream, it came out in a single great burst that cracked like hail upon the surface it struck. Tony found himself huddled in a fetal curl beneath a park bench, without any memory of how he'd gotten there. Moments ago he'd been lying in his cot, falling asleep to the rocky sway of a naval ship at sea and longing for the companionship of his old team. Now, he had bigger problems to worry about. Panting, he squinted up at the storm clouds. It had to end soon. It couldn't rain this hard for very long.

While he groped desperately for a hold on the situation, he suddenly had a peculiar thought and looked at his hands. Instead, he found himself staring at a pair of large, wolfish paws. Horrified, he raced out from under the bench to a pond to check his reflection. Though the pelting rain distorted the shape, there was no mistaking it, for some unexplicable reason, he had turned into a German Shepherd. The dog stood there for several seconds, unable to comprehend what he'd become. Then, feeling more alone than ever, he pointed his nose to the sky and howled.

-

McGee found himself in no better situation. He darted inside a small box to hide from the rain. That was where he became aware of the fact that he was no longer human. Inside his shelter he found a pie tin whose reflective surface showed him a tiny orange tabby drenched from head to toe. When the storm stopped and the sun came up, he scurried out of his box to take in his surroundings. The first thing he spotted was a newspaper pinned against the side of the alley. It was an issue of the New York Times, but the periodical itself really didn't give him any clues about where he was. The New York Times didn't guarantee that he was actually in New York, but he took the information he could get. Somehow, having a name for this place made the circumstances more bearable.

He was hungry. His first concern had to be finding food. The rest would come. As he hunted the streets in search of any form of nurishment, his mind constantly wandered back toward terror and bewilderment. Surely he couldn't have dreamt his human existence. He was a man, and he was dreaming. He had to be. When a bicycle ran over his tail and pain shocked him back to reality, that theory went out the window. He'd never had dreams this vivid. But, how could he have logically turned into a cat?

By the end of the following day, he'd given up on finding good food. He resigned himself to rummaging through garbage cans and mourning the loss of his more comfortable life. It hadn't been perfect, especially after the team had been shattered by the new director. But at least he'd had a home, decent food…and Abby. He'd been able to visit with Gibbs from time to time in the elevator too. Now, he had absolutely nothing, not even the essentials.

But after a month had passed, he adapted, and more importantly, he forgot all that he had been. And the loss of identity proved to be the one thing that kept him sane.

-

Author Note: After hours and hours of cross examining Tony and Dodger, I came to the conclusion that Dodger just had to be represented by another breed of dog. Tony may be a little scruffy, but the Dodger used in Disney's movie is just too small and stout. When choosing a replacement, I spent hours listening to the vocals from the animated film and also comparing the delivery of Tony's lines in NCIS. I spent way more time than I should have on this project. McGee didn't feel as awkward in the Disney suit, so I just left that one alone. As always, R & R.


	3. Why Should I Worry?

Why Should I Worry?

_The rhythm of the city  
But once you get it down  
Then you can own this town  
You can wear the crown_

Tony had thrived. As usual, his charms had won him the hearts of many local dames. His popularity with the females had been a mixed blessing. While it meant he had an extensive posse of house pets sneaking him choice tidbits, it also meant that he'd pissed a lot of males off at the same time. His philandering kept him on the run, but his mobility was what helped him evade the local dogcatchers. So, though he still had more trouble than he'd have cared for, he'd relaxed into his role as a canine Casanova and played it calm and cool. He stole a pair of shades from a street vendor to enhance his image and had earned himself a few coins in Times Square for his performances as a barking beat box. Not that money mattered to dogs, they couldn't spend it, but Tony hoarded some loot away anyway on the off chance he'd turn human again.

He'd just returned from stashing his latest earnings when he spotted a scrawny cat sneaking up on a hot dog stand. The cat was mangy and clearly hadn't eaten well in a while. Starvation had made him stupid. Tony shook his head in pity. Some creatures couldn't handle the streets. While Tony had maintained a healthy weight and mediocre hygine, other strays weren't so lucky. So, he decided to cut the kid a break. He abandoned his meager supply of coins to charge at the hot dog man, barking and snapping like a crazy person.

It proved just enough distraction for the cat to snag a few linked sausages and drag them into the alley. Once the cat was out of the vendor's sight, Tony grinned in self-satisfaction and bolted from the scene. He waited a few minutes before sneeking back around to claim his share of the prize.

The cat had already wolfed down a whole sausage and hissed at the dog as soon as he rounded the corner. The cat arched his back and glared at him with bloodshot, venomous eyes. "Stay back! These are mine!"

"I think you owe me some of that, kid." Tony growled back. "If I hadn't risked my neck, you'd have never gotten past old Bernard and you know it!"

The tabby blinked as his brain turned back on. He had no chance against a healthy dog so much bigger than himself. So, grudgingly, he stepped to the side with his fur still bristling. "Thanks."

"No prob." Tony snapped up half of a sausage just to make a point with the punk then turned to leave him. "Just don't expect me to do you any more favors. Ungreatful probie."

Suddenly, the cat ran between the German Shepherd's legs to stand in front of him and glare up at him again. After a few seconds, the tension in the cat's eyes vanished and disbelief took its place. "Tony?"

"Yeah? What's it to you?" Irritated, he stepped around the tabby. "This is my city, don't you forget it."

"Wait, Tony!" The cat grabbed his hind leg. "It's me! McGee!"

Tony twisted around so fast that he knocked McGee to the ground. "Probie? Is that really you?" His tail began wagging so hard that his whole body shook. "It is you! You would be a cat, wouldn't you? Ha!"

"So…it wasn't a dream?" McGee whispered, eyes round.

"No dream. We're NCIS Special Agents." Tony nodded. "I don't know what's going on here or why we're in these fur coats. I've been looking for clues all over this city. Do you got any theories?"

"No. I've been too busy just getting by to think about it."

"Well, think now. Use that big, beautiful brain." Tony shoved him back over to the sausages. "And eat. You look terrible."

McGee inhaled another sausage in silence while Tony stood on sentry duty. After McGee had his fill, Tony finished off the scraps. Then, amidst much swearing, Tony picked McGee up by the nape of his neck and carried him uptown to a pet exercise area where they could rest in relative safety. There were so many animals and their owners that no one paid any attention to an extra dog and a mangy little cat. The two old friends found themselves watching a rich, victorian house across the street, sensing something within it that drew them ever closer. Before long, they were sitting on the curb, gazing at it hungrally. McGee started to step into the street but Tony grabbed him and tossed him back onto the grass.

"What's the big idea?" McGee demanded.

"That house is dangerous. I've been there once before. I feel like there's something in there that we need in order to get home but…the last time I tried to get in I nearly got caught. Do you know what people do to strays that get locked up in the pound." Tony made the kill gesture with his paw. "Not good, Probie."

"Maybe now that there's two of us, we can do it." He suggested.

"No go, McGee." Tony shook his head. "Just concentrate on figuring out what our objective really is."

"Well…" McGee sat down. "Now that you mention it, I do have an idea."

"All right, what is it?"

"We've got to find the others. Once we do, we can do whatever we have to do." McGee explained. "Maybe the reason why we're drawn to that house is because Gibbs, Ziva or Abby is in there."

"I bet it's Ziva." Tony flattened his ears. "There's a poodle in that house. Rumor is that she's a royal bitch and I can think of no one that better fits that description than our little Mossad liaison."

"Ziva doesn't seem the poodle-type to me." McGee made a face. "From what I remember, she's more like a Rottweiler."

"Look, it doesn't matter! Let's just try to find whoever we can, but we stick together. I don't want to get separated again." Tony began to march back into the park. "Let's sniff around here first. We're a pretty odd bunch, if someone's seen the others, we'll probably hear about it here."

"Good idea." McGee followed in his footsteps, making sure he never lost sight of the great big blockhead.

-

Eventually, Tony did overhear an interesting rumor. According to an old Dane, stories were circulating about a mutt downtown that, like Tony, had avoided linking itself with a pack. This dog, however was called the Wolf. No one knew it's name, gender or even if it were a real wolf. All that the local dogs knew about it was that the Wolf was said to be a guardian for pups and bums caught on the wrong side of the streets. It was a dangerous warrior, but also a great teacher if one could keep from rubbing its fur the wrong way. Certain that they'd found Gibbs, Tony and McGee ran downtown as fast as they could in search of the Wolf.

Author Note: I did say I would screw with the plot. And now I have. :) R&R.


	4. Streets of Gold

Streets of Gold

_Every Boulevard is a Miracle Mile_

_You'll Take the Town_

_And You'll Take It With Style_

_If You Play it Brave and Bold_

_These are Streets of Gold_

They searched until the sun went down, but found no sign of the Wolf. McGee made a smart ass comment as they hovered near exhaustion that made both dog and cat stare at each other in exasperation. Somehow, it'd never occurred to them that animals had urban legends too. They were about to give up when they saw a shaggy black dog fly past them. Intrigued, they followed it through a network of alleys until they found where the black dog had stopped. Tony and McGee had followed its trail to a dead end. Realizing that the black had escaped, they both laid down and tried to rest.

A loud woof woke them. Tony opened his eyes to find himself staring into the fierce yellow eyes of the black dog. It occurred to him, in the split second before it attacked, that the dog was big enough to kill a bear and he didn't have a prayer. McGee jolted awake when the two dogs began to tussle and tried to help Tony by latching onto the black's hind leg but was kicked away. He drew himself up and started to leap back into the fray when something grabbed him by the neck and pulled him back.

Tony had held the black off as long as he could, and when he saw the brute lunge at his jugular, he found himself screaming for his old partner. Then, the black was flying sideways over him with eyes as round as basketballs. A rusty brown wolf let out an unearthly howl and chased the black halfway down the alley before it stopped and turned back toward Tony and McGee. As Tony's fatalistic daze melted away, he noticed that the wolf…or dog…had a slightly broader muzzle than a typical wolf and it's tail had a very distinctive curl. There was no doubt that it had some wolf in its blood, but at least half of it was Husky. Shaking himself, Tony rose to his feet and limped forward with his tail between his legs.

"Hey, thanks," he said.

"You should know better." The Wolf glared.

Tony gawked at the voice. "You're a girl?"

"Yes." The Wolf flicked her tail. "I am."

"Come on, Tony," McGee nosed him. "We should get back to the park."

"Park's closed." Tony commented absently. "We go back, we'll just get busted."

The Wolf adopted a peculiar expression. "You don't have a place to stay?"

"No, but you know what that's like. You're a stray too, aren't you?" Tony shrugged.

"In a way. Come. You can stay with me." The Wolf picked up a lazy trot and led them through the labyrinth to an abandoned shack with an ominous 'condemned' sign hanging on its door. "I don't know how much longer we can stay here, but you are welcome if you want."

"I think we should take it, Probie." Tony whispered. "Who knows? Maybe the Wolf's pack will help us out."

"We'll stay the night at least." McGee agreed. "One night couldn't hurt."

"Thanks again for all this, miss." Tony said, looking her in the eye.

The fierce chocolate glare that struck him nearly knocked him off balance. She snorted at him as if his gratitude was the last thing she wanted and headed inside. In the shack, Tony was startled to find none other than Gibbs laying on a musty pile of blankets. Gibbs was still human, although his beard and cologne d'whiskey suggested that the man had also fallen on bad times. The Wolf touched her wet nose to his cheek to wake him. Gibbs sat up, rubbing his eyes. Then, ignoring the new dog and cat, looked right at the Wolf.

"Did you find 'em, Ziva?" Gibbs asked.

"Ziva?" Tony and McGee gasped.

Ziva turned to snarl at them. "Yes, it's me! Why did you think I invited you back here? Don't tell me you were expecting something else, DiNozzo."

"Well, I thought it was out of the goodness of your heart." Tony snarled right back. "Why didn't you say it was you?"

"I thought you knew!"

"Guys, guys!" McGee put his tiny orange body between the two. "This should be a happy reunion!"

"You two never could stop your bickering." Gibbs walked over to scratch Tony behind the ears. "How's my senior field agent?"

"You can understand us?" Tony angled his head.

"Well, enough to get by." Gibbs shrugged. "But we don't have time to get into all that. Listen. Now that I've got all three of you here, I need you to do something."

"I'm all ears, Boss." Tony nodded.

"There's this old Victorian mansion uptown. Abby lives there. You have to get her and bring her here." Gibbs gestured as he spoke, as if unsure if his words made sense to the animals. "I think the point to all this is that…well, since the director broke us apart, we've been a mess. If we find each other again, everything will go back to normal."

"There's not a bigger picture?" McGee asked.

"My gut doesn't seem to think so." Gibbs glared. "Now, get some rest. You leave first thing in the morning."

"This is such a bad idea," McGee grumbled. "I mean, I'm all for rescuing Abby, but…this seems awful risky."

"What isn't risky any more, Probie?" Tony sighed. "You got any better ideas?"

"No…but still…" McGee fidgeted.

Ziva lied down beside Gibbs's cot with a yawn. "Just try to get some sleep. We're safe here for now."

"Shouldn't someone keep watch?" McGee protested.

"Gibbs and I have been here for a few months now, and one thing we've learned is that the neighborhood watches out for its own. We don't need a guard." Ziva closed her eyes.

Tony curled up beside her and rested his head on her side. "I'm not being presumptuous, I'm just cold and I thought you would be too."

"Sure you did," she grumbled but made no move to shove him away.

McGee waited until the two dogs were asleep then, ever so carefully, he wedged himself between them and tried his best to ignore their horrendous snoring.

Author Note: Shame on you if you didn't see the twist coming. (Joke, Joke). Ziva has been portrayed as a little bit of a monster/ice queen on the surface, hence the decision to make her part wolf. Perhaps I borrowed lightly from Balto, yes? Eh hem…as for Gibbs being the bum, I shall point you straight to the first few episodes of Season Four and laugh. BTW, anyone curious about the Disney version of Ziva's character should think about who sings this chapter's namesake. If you still can't figure it out…Cough, cough, coughritacough.


	5. Good Company

Good Company

_You and Me Together We'll Be_

_Forever You'll See_

Tony, Ziva and McGee made for the Victorian mansion early that morning. They rose before the sun, and with Gibbs's plan, they managed to infiltrate the manor with little difficulty. McGee used his claws to disable the meek security system while Tony and Ziva stood guard. Then, the trio ducked inside and split up to investigate the house and extract Abby before the home owners realized there was an intruder.

McGee was the unlucky bastard that stumbled into the little girl's room. He knew he was in trouble when he saw the little body rise from beneath the blankets and slide her feet into her slippers. But he froze. He couldn't run. All he could do was stand there, back arched and mouth open while he watched the little one tie up her pigtails before turning toward him.

"Oh! Hey there, kitty." The black-haired girl crooned. She knelt beside him and wiggled her fingers.

McGee finally came to his senses. "Abby?"

"Whoa." She plopped down with a dull thud. "You talk?"

"Ziva, Tony!" McGee called. "I found her!"

There was a chorus of barking. McGee recognized his friend's voices, but there was a third clammering along with them. Then, an alarm went off inside the house. Tony and Ziva charged into the room with a rampant poodle on their tails. Without explaining the situation to Abby, Tony threw her onto his back and took off back the way he came. Ziva fought the poodle while they made their escape. As McGee ran, he forced himself to look back. The last thing he saw was Ziva hit the floor, limp and bloody while the poodle shook her neck mercilessly.

-

"Damn." Gibbs swore when McGee gave his report. "Are you sure she's…dead?"

"She looked like a rag doll." McGee's ears drooped. "I don't think she was playing possum."

"Well…what now?" Abby sniffled. "If the whole point was for us to all be here together…we screwed up. Ziva's gone."

"Ziva's gone." Tony echoed. He'd been in shock since McGee had told him about his partner, and hadn't said more than those same two words since. "Gone. Gone."

They were all silent for the longest time, both mourning the loss of a friend and wondering what they could possibly do to get back now. There was a light tap at the door, then another. Gibbs got up and opened it, unsure of what he expected to see. No one was there except a pale, rather lifeless looking wolf-dog. "Ziva!" he exclaimed.

She lifted her head weakly. "I made it?"

"Don't move." Gibbs ordered as he made a cursory examination. He could tell just by glancing at her that she wouldn't recover without surgery and he, as the only human, had no means of getting her the medical attention she needed.

Tony sniffed at her and whimpered. Then, he forced himself to stand straight and tall, look her in the eyes and growl a snide "you look like hell."

She made a coughing laugh and laid her head back down. The whole team gathered around her and placed their paws and hands over her weakly beating heart. Ziva's eyes widened and her body took on a sudden rigidity. Tony howled. Then, a hole opened beneath them, and they all fell.

Author Note: Oooh! Scary shit, eh? Anyway, you should notice that there is no mention of owing money to Sykes. Originally, I thought about making Vahn into the villian, but it weighed the whole story down too much. This bit is mostly an introduction into the deeper things to come. To me, Oliver and Company has always been more about finding family than dealing with the underworld society. Anyway, that's the reason for the plot change. I made Abby the little girl because I made McGee the cat and I was shooting for a slight McAbby. But then it got really awkward, so it got shortened. O.o Now, let's move on to France for Beauty in the Beast!

And please review! I know there's a lot of you reading me, so I should be able to get at least a few reviews per chapter! If you get me ten reviews per chapter starting now, I'll post new chapters TWICE a day! Once in the morning and once at night. Okay? Sound good? That is a seriously small percentage of those who are actually reading this story! PLEASE SOMEBODY REVIEW!!


	6. Home

Home

_Shut Away _

_From the World Until Who Knows When_

_Oh but then_

_As my Life has Been Altered Once_

_It Can Change Again_

"Ouch! Damn!" Tony swore as he picked himself up off the cobblestone street. The first thing he noticed was that he was human again, although he appeared to be in slightly better shape than he had been in before he'd turned into a dog. Even though he hurt from the fall, he felt a sudden surge of excitement. He began to look around frantically, hoping to find himself back home…but he was greeted with disappointment. This was definitely not home.

He brushed himself off and marched into the closest shop in search of a clue about where he was. It was a humble little bookshop with a tiny clerk that had some of the buggiest eyes he'd ever seen. The clerk was putting a few novels back on the shelf using a shaky ladder. Tony saw it start to tilt dangerously and rushed over to help stabilize it.

"Oh, thank you, Tony." The clerk wheezed as he climbed down holding his heart. "I suppose you're here to check out another book?"

Tony had never exactly been a big patron of the literary arts, and was obviously quite stunned that this little old man was suggesting the opposite. Again, he was met with the feeling that he'd forgotten his entire life and that his time at NCIS had been nothing more than a dream. Maybe if he read one of the books he'd supposedly enjoyed, he'd be able to remember what he'd forgotten, or at least find a clue about what to do next. "Yeah. I wanted to flip through my old favorite. Is that all right?"

"Why don't you just keep it this time, hmm? If you love it so much." The clerk handed him a worn blue volume with no title but an embossed rose on its cover. "Did you know that story is based off a local legend? They say the beast from that story really does live in a castle just north of here. It's surrounded by a haunted forest. Bwahaha!" The clerk threw his arms at Tony. "Ah ha! I scared you!"

"You sure did." Disturbed, Tony took a step backward and wandered back out into the street to find himself accosted by a very unhappy looking Abby.

"Tony, tell me we are not in medieval Europe," she snapped.

"I don't have any idea." Tony shook his head, clearing the haze this strange world had put him in. "The clerk in that store said that I liked to read this book." He held it up for Abby's examination. "And that the beast in it is part of a local legend about a castle in the woods."

She snatched the book and glanced skimmed the first couple lines. "I don't know this one." Abby shoved it back at him with a huff. "We don't have time to mess around with legends anyway. I found out that you're my brother and our Dad is a crazy inventor that lives outside of town."

"Well, let's head home. Maybe Gibbs, Ziva and McGee turned into farm animals or something. Lead the way." Tony gestured.

"How the hell should I know where it is? How do you ask people a question like that?" she hissed.

There was an explosion. Both Tony and Abby raced to the edge of town to see the source of the blast. Then, shaking his head, Tony pointed toward a rush of rising smoke toward the south. "I'm guessing Daddy just blew himself up again."

-

They rushed up the road until they reached the little cottage. Sure enough, they found a slightly scorched Gibbs sitting next to a burning contraption with a primitive hammer in his hand. He had a blank look to his eyes, just as he had when he'd survived the last explosion. Tony and Abby rushed to his side and started babbling at him, trying to get him to snap out of it. From what they'd gathered about their current location, there wouldn't be a real good medical facility.

"Oh, get off of me!" Gibbs waved them away and slowly stood up. "I'm fine, I'm fine. Where've you two been?"

"In town, looking for clues." Tony handed him the book and relayed what the clerk had told him about it.

Gibbs held the book at arms length and squinted. Then, with a sigh, he took the book over to the dun draft horse watching from the paddock and held it up. "McGee, what is this?"

The horse leaned forward and delicately flipped over the book to stare at a random page. Then, he snorted and lifted his head back up. "It's about a selfish prince that got turned into a monster because he wouldn't let a witch stay in his home."

"Beauty and the Beast." Gibbs frowned. "Ziva couldn't be in the castle, could she?"

McGee shook his head. "I don't think so. We all fell in about the same place, so maybe she's still in the village."

"Unless she already went up to the castle looking for us," Tony grumbled.

Abby shook her head. "I don't see how she could've. We have the only clue that leads to the castle."

"What if she heard the story in a pub or something?" Tony retorted.

"She wouldn't have just run off." Gibbs pointed out. "When we were in New York, she didn't even look for food or shelter until she found me. Showed up at the shack looking like the walking dead after a few days passed. Ziva would search the entire valley before leaving."

"Unless she was following her gut." Tony turned his eyes north. "I'm going to look for her."

"The hell you are, DiNozzo." Gibbs snarled. "If we go to that castle, we all go together. And we're not leaving until we search the entire village."

-

In the highest tower of a diabolic castle, a frail body cowered in the corner. Before it, stretched across the floor was the shadow of a great, horned monster that prowled ever closer with saliva dripping from its mouth. "So? You've come to stare at the Beast, have you?" There was a terrible shriek, and bats fled from the sound to coat the sunny day with a cloud of black.

Author Note: Ooh, where am I going with this? I wonder…

Come on guys, I'm still waiting for those reviews!


	7. Be Our Guest

Be Our Guest

_You're Alone and You're Scared_

_But the Banquet's All Prepared_

_No One's Gloomy or Complaining_

_While the Flatware's Entertaining_

Tony snuck away. He didn't give a damn about what Gibbs had said. He just knew his partner was in danger and he wasn't going to lose her again. So, he raced to the forest on foot and crossed through the creepiest, wolf infested section he could find, using the blue book as his map into hell. As it grew dark, he lit a lantern and delved deeper into the forest, reading as he walked. He finished the book just as he arrived at a massive iron gate. As he closed the book, he became aware of a problem he hadn't considered before. What if Ziva was acting as the heroine and, even now, found herself falling in love with the prince in disguise? Disgusted, he threw open the gate and let himself into the overgrown courtyard. He didn't see how someone could love a monster in real life. In a book it seemed cute and romantic, but in real life…monsters didn't change their ways for the sake of a pretty face.

Or a nice ass. Whatever the case might be.

Tony was determined to rescue his partner no matter how far in over her head she'd gotten, but when he stepped into the castle he did admit that he shouldn't have come alone like he had. The others would never find this place without the book to use as a guide. Gulping, Tony clung to the blue book as if it were his lifeline and began to creep through the gloomy palace.

Were it not for all the dust and darkness, it might've reminded him of his boyhood. He'd grown up in a wealthy family and though their house hadn't been this large or drafty, there was an air of distinction that felt very familiar. Tony turned toward a sudden noise, hoisting the lantern higher. "Ziva? Is that you?"

"He looks lost," a heavily french accented voice chirped from the corner. "We should at least invite him to stay for dinner."

"Remember what the master said!" another voice hissed.

"Oh shit," Tony muttered to himself. "H-hello? Who's there?"

A candlestick and an old clock hobbled forward. The candlestick with the heavier accent waved merrily in greeting. "Hello! Welcome, _monsieur!_ I suppose you are hungry."

"Oh, the master isn't going to like this," the clock griped.

"Let me deal with that." The candle winked. "Well, how about it? Join us for dinner?"

"I actually was looking for a friend. I don't suppose you've seen her? She's about this tall, dark hair, brown eyes?" Tony gestured.

The candlestick exchanged a look with the clock and sighed. "I'm sorry, but we haven't. Come, have something to eat before you leave."

"I don't think I—"

"We insist!" The candlestick gave him a shove.

"Ah!" the clock screamed and ducked into a closet.

Tony jolted. "What's up with him?"

Just then, a scrawny man came bolting down the stairs with claw marks across his face. "Run! Run while you can! Eeek!" The man made it out the massive doorway before it shuddered and slammed shut again.

The room was bathed in darkness except for a single ray of light that flooded in through a hole in the wall. Tony heard a soft thud as the candlestick joined his friend in hiding in the closet. He began trembling so hard that the lantern wiggled right out of his hand and crashed to the ground in a flurry of sparks. There was an unworldly shriek. Tony cringed, grabbing his ears instinctively. The next thing he knew, he was being held by his throat, pinned up against the wall.

The light splashed across the monster, rendering its great horns and teeth in sharp relief. But the one thing that Tony found himself staring at was not the fur, claws or fangs…it was its eyes. The eyes were dark and full of memory, sparking with a deadly intelligence that sent a shiver down his spine.

"What are you doing here?" It growled in its craggy voice.

Tony gagged but no sound came out. The Beast lowered him down to the ground and found a less lethal hold before demanding an answer. This time, Tony found himself able to speak. "I'm…trying to find my partner. Thought she'd be here."

It pushed its face to within an inch of his, staring intently. When Tony pulled away automatically, the Beast recoiled as well and the intelligence in its eyes was replaced again by a rampant anger. "Lock him in the tower. I'll deal with him in the morning."

"B-but, master," the candlestick squeeked. "Should we not give out guest a meal?"

"Our _prisoner_ will dine on scraps in the tower." The Beast roared. "Am I understood?"

The candlestick nodded and began shoving Tony in the general direction of the tower. "Come along, _monsieur._"

Tony turned back to look at the Beast but it had vanished. "I see your master is as charming as the book said he'd be."

"You can hardly blame her. Having to walk around with a face like _that_." The candlestick shrugged.

"Did you say _her_?" Tony gawked. "The book said the Beast was a prince."

"Do you believe everything you read?" The candlestick tsked. "Well, I suppose our prior master was a prince but he had a terrible temper. After he ran off into the mountains, this woman showed up looking for her old friends. Then, there was this great _poof _and _voila!_ She became the Beast. I don't know if the other will be coming back or not, but I rather enjoy this one. She has moments where she seems almost lucid."

Tony swore at himself. "When I told you about my friend, is that what the Beast used to look like?"

"I don't remember. I'm a candlestick. How am I supposed to remember things?"

"Well, is the curse the same? I mean, if she finds someone that she loves and earns their love in return...she'll turn back?"

"I don't know. The evil witch didn't hex her, as far as I know. Some other black magic is at work here. But, I suppose love couldn't hurt anything. Maybe if someone she cared about showed up she'd have more of those lucid moments. But I don't know for sure." The candlestick opened up a door. "Now, you stay in this room until the master tells you otherwise, okay? Stay out of trouble. I'll be back with food."

When the door slammed shut, Tony started to investigate his quarters. It was a nice room, really. The bed was comfy enough and he didn't find any bugs in the mattress. He was sure that, in medieval standards, this would have qualified as a five-star hotel. Strange that the Beast had chosen to lock him in here, instead of in some damp dungeon where he could be properly interrogated. But he would not complain about it. Instead, he sprawled out on the canopy bed and waited for the candlestick to come back with his dinner. Before he knew it, he was fast asleep.

-

Author's Note: Ooh…I went there! Gah! .

Bet you thought that "Beauty IN the Beast" thing was a typo that I made a few chapter ago. Ha ha! I totally slipped that in as foreshadowing. As for my reason behind the role reversal, if you watch seasons three through five and study Ziva's evolution, her entire story seems to center around misconceptions about the reasons behind her ice queen bit. She's slowly started to show that she has a softer side. Why is up for debate. But I think it's one of the coolest aspects of the series right now. It's very subtle and difficult to see the changes as they happen, but if you take an image of Ziva from her first episode and compare it to her latest one, you can definitely see that a transformation has taken place. And personally, I think the more feminine look is meant to complement her more relaxed attitude (as well as flaunt herself for Tony's sake, but I think that's more of a side benefit.) ANYWAY, there's definitely a Beauty IN the Beast thing going on NCIS, which I absolutely love because I've had it pointed out to me recently that I have that same dragon-lady personality. (O.o) Although I personally doubt I come off that cool.

Review PLEASE!!


	8. If I Can't Love Her

If I Can't Love Her

_No Comfort, No Escape_

_I See, but Deep Within is Utter Blindness_

The Beast threw the doors open and stalked into the room on all fours. Tony jolted awake and gasped at the sight of the great monster before he remembered who she was and what was going on. The damage had already been done though, and there was no point in apologizing for his outburst. The Beast roared savagely as it rose to a bipedal stance. Tony forced himself to stand slowly and take a single step toward her. All the hairs on his head were standing on end and the effort of approaching something that he was so terrified of almost made him pass out on the spot. After a few moments, however, the Beast quieted and sunk back down to all fours. Her anatomy forbade her to stand like a human would for very long.

"You seem familiar." The Beast growled after an eternity. "But I can't remember."

Tony realized that there was a tiny light shining in her eyes. Was this one of her lucid moments perhaps? Hopeful, Tony took another small step toward her. "I'm Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo of NCIS. And I think you were my partner, Ziva David."

"Tony…?" She tilted her head, a pained expression on her face. "Partner…?"

Tony could tell that her intellectual moment was passing and he felt an overwhelming surge of frustration. "It's okay if you don't remember. I'll help you. I'll remind you of all the things we've been through and things will start coming back, you'll see. Can you tell me what you remember about what happened to you?"

"I don't remember." Panic replaced the humanity in her eyes as she began pacing from one end of the room to the other. "I don't remember! Why don't I remember?"

"It's okay! Ziva, it's all right. Look at me." Feeling braver than he should have, he grabbed her by the horns. "Look at me, Sweet Cheeks. It's me, Tony. I'm Tony. Say it back to me. Nothing else matters, okay? Just this."

"Jeanne mattered." Ziva twisted her head, throwing him to the floor. Then, hissing, she pinned him to the floor with one paw. "And you mattered. But I don't matter. I don't matter!"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Tony barked. "Of course you matter! You're my partner! I'm saying—"

"Your partner!" She thundered. "Three years and I'm just your _partner_?"

"I thought you said you didn't remember." Tony paled.

The Beast, Ziva snapped her jaws shut inches from his nose. "I didn't, now I do. For a moment, I believed I was safe. I'd found a family, a _home_, and most importantly someone who understood that I wasn't a monster! But it was not Director Vahn's fault that I'm in this place, it's your's!"

"I came after you, didn't I?" Tony yelled back at her, losing all sense of self-preservation. "Doesn't that count for anything?"

"And why did you come?" Ziva snarled, throwing herself back toward the door. "You didn't come for me, you came for yourself. You came so you could get back to your little agent afloat mission. Do you know what awaits me when I go home, Tony? Do you know what I've been through since I left NCIS?"

Tony stood up, brushing himself off. "I didn't want to see you get shipped back to Israel. I know what it's like over there right now. Do you know how many hours I've spent watching the news, wondering if it was you that got killed in a shooting or a roadside bomb? Even now, when you look like something out of Dungeons and Dragons, you're no monster to me."

"What am I?" Incoherent again, the Beast's eyes rolled about in her head. Her mind had shut down, unable to process any more information. "Why am I here?"

Tony watched her prowl away in misery. Though the exchange hadn't ended well, he now partially understood what was wrong with her. It made since that he'd been the one to find the book, because he was the one person on the team that could wake her up. And it was his responsibility. He'd never really made it clear to her just how close they'd become. She was his best friend, and he was her's. It was time to make sure she realized that there truly was someone out there that knew how beautiful she was inside.

--

Author Note: Ah! I love the lyrics for this song, and it's a total Ziva tune. :)

Don't Forget to REVIEW!!


	9. Something There

Something There

_There May Be Something There That_

_Wasn't There Before_

She didn't come back. After a week of waiting for another chance, Tony finally realized that he wasn't going to get one. Either she'd decided to ignore him or, the more likely, she'd forgotten he was there. Luckily, the servants seemed to remember him…at least enough to continue to bring him food a few times a day. But Tony was starting to lose his mind, locked in that tiny little room with nothing to do but read the blue book and stare at the papered walls of his prison. Because the book could provide no further use to him, he spent most of his time trying to think of a way to prove to Ziva that she wasn't a monster…and he did care about her in his own way. After realizing that she wasn't coming back, he turned his mind to the more immediate problem. He had to get the hell out of there. As long as he was trapped in his room, he couldn't help her.

A month passed before he saw his chance. The clock was sick, and so the absent minded candlestick was the only one to bring Tony his meal. When it left, it forgot to lock the door behind him. Without bothering to think of a plan, he crept out of his room the moment he thought the candlestick was far enough away. _Freedom!_ After a brief moment of gloating, he made his way to the west wing, remembering that it was the master's quarters…at least, according to the book. He wished he had his gun as his snuck around the castle. Although he knew the temptation of shoot his partner would be too much if he had a gun in his hands, he felt rather naked wandering around in such dangerous territory without one.

When he reached the west wing, he was appalled by the state of it. He'd seen Ziva's apartment, and it had been fairly clean and organized, but this whole area was a terrible mess. It looked like the Beast had ripped apart everything in the whole damn room. Only a single, floating, glittering rose on a claw-foot stand remained untouched by the devastation. Something about the magical flower drew him closer, and he found himself reaching out to touch the petals.

Then next thing he knew, he was flat on his back with a very unhappy looking Beast pinning him to the ground. Tony stared at her in wide-eyed terror as she proceeded to roar at him with an even greater fury than she had before. He couldn't see his partner inside this animal at all. Then, he felt something very unfeminine bang against his leg and his mouth fell open. He knew for a_ fact_ that Ziva didn't have one of _those._ This was not a girl. This was not his partner. _Oh shit, the prince is back._ Tony saw his life flash before his eyes as the male creature raised its free paw for the final kill. Ziva wasn't going to save him this time. Who knew what had happened to her? Unsure of what to do, Tony did the only thing he could think of and threw his foot right into the bastard's groin. With a howl, the monster recoiled and grabbed himself.

Tony took off down the stairs faster than he knew he could run. He made it outside, to the courtyard, then to the forest, without any pursuit. Just as he began to think he was home free though, the male appeared in front of him screaming loud enough to shatter glass. Tony froze, knowing he couldn't get away no matter where he ran. Again, he regretted running out to the castle without backup, but this time he also regretted not asking the damn candlestick about Ziva before making his escape.

He closed his eyes, raised one arm in defence and prepared himself for the end. There was a loud bang. Tony opened his eyes again, shocked to see the male lying unconsious right next to him. He looked around, frantic to see what could have possibly knocked the beast out. What he saw was not at all what he expected. It was the candlestick, and he was holding a frying pan that had been dented beyond repair by the prince's skull.

"You saved my life." Tony exclaimed.

"You are quite stupid," The candlestick muttered. "I leave the door unlocked so you can get away since the nice master ran off, and you go right into the lair of the bad one! What's the matter with you?"

"I didn't know she was gone." Tony snapped. "I wanted to see her again."

"You did?"

"I did!"

"Well, in that case, she went that way." The candlestick gestured with the pan.

The pan swore as it apparently regained consciousness. "Damn you, use your own head next time!"

"Oops! Got to go!" The candlestick dropped the frying pan and ran back to the castle.

Tony followed the candlestick's instructions, though he had mixed feelings about the object's instructions. But it had saved him. That made it fairly smart, right? Although the action meant it'd be in big trouble when the beast woke…

Tony didn't have far to go before he found Ziva. She was wandering in the woods just a few miles east of the castle. It was clear that she'd been in a fight recently. Fresh claw marks decorated her entire body and several chucks of fur had been stripped away. She was limping too. Her right foreleg was clearly hurting. Her ribs were showing under the pelt as well, indicative of the fact that she hadn't eaten in several days. There were also wounds that had begun to heal, and from a glance Tony guessed that some were all most a month old. Maybe Ziva hadn't abandoned him by choice at all.

Though he was afraid it might be the last thing he ever did, he ran to catch up to her and called out her name. She stopped and whipped around, terror shining in her eyes. Then, recognition dawned briefly before pale confusion took over again. Tony barrelled into her and wrapped his arms around her neck. She snorted and pulled away from him. This time, he didn't let her. He grabbed her nape before she could get away from him again.

"You're hurt. Let me help you." He said as calmly as he could.

She snarled at him soundlessly, then laid down right there with a huff. "I see you got away from him. I didn't think you could."

"Did you try to come back?" he asked as he tended to her wounds. "Is that why some of these are more recent than others?"

"You're my partner. I couldn't leave you in there." Ziva growled involuntarily as his medical attention made her injuries sting. "Careful! I can't control myself."

"Yes you can, better than most." Impressed himself that he didn't stutter, he fisted a hand in her fur. "You won't hurt me. I know you won't."

Her eyes softened, then fluttered closed. As Tony used strips of his own clothing to bind her more serious wounds, she fell asleep. They were no safer out here, but they were together and the world seemed a little less terrifying because of that.

-

Author Note: I kind of didn't think I was going to do that until I did. Sounded really dumb in my head but I think it turned out really good. Kind of funny how random that was, actually.

Thanks to everybody that reviewed! I love the feedback!

We are now sitting at a grand total of eight reviews guys. Keep 'em coming! Double that and I'll double up postings!


	10. Beauty and the Beast

Beauty and the Beast

__

Certain as the Sun

Rising in the East

Tale as Old as Time

Song as Old as Rhyme

Beauty and the Beast

Ziva's nose twitched. When she woke, the first thing she noticed was a pile of berries lying in front of her. She snapped up a mouthful before sniffing the air again. She couldn't see Tony and she smelled the tantalizing aroma of cooking meat. Horrified, she jumped to her feet, promptly doing a face plant in the berries because she'd forgotten about her injured leg. Then, shaking herself, she stood up successfully this time and bleated for Tony in alarm. A few moments later, he appeared with a skewered rabbit in his right hand. It'd been properly skinned and roasted to perfection. It looked delicious.

"I don't suppose it's still kosher if I stole it from a rabbi?" Tony made a face.

Ziva blinked stupidly at him. "You stole a rabbit from a rabbi?"

"No, I was just kidding. I found some coins in my pants and figured I'd pay him for it, make sure it's all properly fixed for you and everything. I'm not sure how it works exactly," he admitted and offered her the rabbit. "But I would have stole it!"

"That's…very sweet of you, Tony." She chomped down on it, taking half the bunny in one bite.

"Wow. Maybe I should go back and get another dozen or so." Tony's eyes widened.

"Did you want some?"

"I think I'm good. You need it more than I do." He shrugged. "And I don't really care if my meat's kosher or not."

"I think under the circumstances, God would forgive me." Ziva laughed. "I'm not the strictest Jewish woman in the world, Tony."

"Then why did you turn down those pickled pigs feet?" Tony smirked. "You said it was because they weren't kosher!"

"You still remember that?"

"I still remember a lot of things, now answer the question, Miss David."

"There are some things that just shouldn't be eaten." She made a face and finished off the rabbit. "Under any circumstances."

"As long as we're on the same page with that one." He grinned. "So…are you feeling any better this morning?"

"Not much." She shook her head. "But I think we should keep moving. That thing in the castle is much stronger than I am, even when I'm in fighting condition. We should get as far away from it as possible."

"Then let's steer back towards the village. There's a farm just outside where the others are waiting for us." Tony pointed in the general direction they should take.

Ziva sighed. "I suppose we should. It's too dangerous to stay here anymore."

"Things have really been that bad in Israel?" Tony murmured.

"There are things you don't know about me, Tony." Ziva shook her head. "The farther away I am from Mossad, the safer I am. Before Vahn split us up…I was even considering staying in America on a permanent basis. There's nothing left for me in Israel. My family's gone."

"Everyone? Even your father?"

"_He's_ not dead but…Tony, I just don't know. I'm afraid that if he knew…he'd sign my death warrant without a second thought."

"My family's not real supportive either." He shrugged. Part of him wanted to ask her the rather obvious _why_ but the other part knew that there was no point in asking. She was a secretive woman, and digging would only stem the tide of information not encourage it to continue. "They disowned me. I don't think I'm that bad of a guy either, am I?"

"No, not right now you aren't." She chuckled. "But you do have your moments."

"God, I've missed you, Ziva." He grew quiet and turned away from her. "This time apart hasn't been easy on me either."

"I'm sorry about before." She mumbled. "You know that."

"You couldn't help it, I know. It's okay." He nodded. "But…that resentment still had to come from somewhere. And…I think I'm the one who should be apologizing for that."

"Let's find the others." Ziva began walking in the direction he'd indicated earlier. "Maybe when we get back to the real world…we'll be able to get back to NCIS."

"To our real family." He patted her on the back. "And we can do stuff together again. Bring back movie night and have a few drinks…you could try to teach me piano again, that was a real hoot…and I could help you study for your citizenship test if you did decide to stay in the states."

"Well, I don't know about the rest." She gave him a look as they began crossing a frozen lake. "But…I think I'd have to take you up on that drink after all this."

"Hey look!" Tony grabbed her and pointed across the ice. "I think that's them coming toward us."

"Is McGee the horse?" Ziva laughed.

Gibbs waved. "There you are! I told you not to leave the village, Tony!"

"But I found her!" Tony glared. "And we're alive, aren't we?"

"If you two ever pull a stunt like that again--!" Gibbs never got a chance to finish his threat. As soon as the two groups converged into one again, the ice shattered and they fell into the dark waters of the lake.

-

Author Note: Oh damn! So close, again! Bummer! I hate it when dreams do that, don't you? I bet you were all expecting something really snuggly and cute to go in there, given the song used. Instead, you got a dead rabbit. O.o I'm mean! Well, on we go to the next section now. We're headed to Atlantica next so hold on to your seahorses! Now's when it starts getting good! Don't forget to review!!


	11. Under the Sea

Under the Sea

__

The Seaweed is Always Greener

In Somebody Else's Lake

You Dream About Going Up There

But That is a Big Mistake

Tony woke sputtering. He found himself in a tiny little cabin on board a ship. For a split second, he thought that he'd made it back. Then, he left the cabin to find himself standing on the desk of a wooden, sail-driven ship. And it was raining. Hard.

"Aw shit." Tony kicked the rail. "This is not an improvement!"

"Well…" Gibbs groaned as he leaned against the rail beside him. "At least I don't have to worry about you running off again."

"Boss!" Tony grinned. "Have you seen Ziva? Or Abby or McGee?"

"Well, no. But they're safer than we are, anyway. According to the Captain, Abby and McGee work in the kitchen back at the castle." Gibbs laughed. "And I'm your damn butler."

"What?" Tony yelled over the storm.

"You're a prince, Tony. A God damn prince!"

-

Ziva screamed. There wasn't much time to do anything else. There was a shark snapping at her through a hole in a sunken ship. She tried to kick her legs only to find a silvery, dolphin-like tail instead. Without pondering over her body mutilation, she kicked her tail and used her arms to navigate her way out of a narrow hatch opposite the shark. She swam as fast as she could, learning how to maneuver with the new tail on the fly. Eventually, she reached a gigantic underwater castle and took shelter inside. A heavily armored merman launched himself at the shark and beat at it with a spear until the giant fish thought better of eating any merpeople and retreated.

Is that what she was? She looked herself over now, absolutely delighted. She loved the water, and had always had a certain fascination with mermaids. Now…she was one! Thrilled, she began dancing about through the castle, reveling in this new experience. Then, suddenly, another merman appeared that terrified her beyond words. This one looked exactly like her father. But rather than act callously toward her as he had lately, he drew her deeper into the castle where her long dead siblings had come back to life and greeted her with a flurry of hugs and chatter. She was beside herself, tearing up with joy. She spoke with Tali about her time at NCIS, especially Tony because she knew the stories would amuse her. And they did. Then, Ari interupted the excited girl talk to send Ziva his sideways smile.

"So, Ziva…why don't you tell our father why he's really missing a son?" Ari raised an eyebrow. "Don't you think he'd want to know the truth?"

Indeed, her father was looking at her with great interest. Horrified, Ziva did the only thing she could think of, she fled the castle and swam as hard and fast as she could to the surface. She had to get away, to another world entirely. Somehow!

-

Author Note: I think I'd have a few moments like that if I killed MY brother. I'm actually surprised that it's been so long since they brought it up on the show. I'd think Ziva'd be having serious flashback problems, even now that it's been a few years. Hence why she has a little nightmare about it. ;) You all know what's coming next! Review so we can hurry up and get to it!

We're SO close to reaching that 16 review mark! Remember, once you hit it I'll post two a day!


	12. Part of Your World

Part of Your World

__

Watch And You'll See

Someday I'll Be

Part of Your World

Ziva hit her head on the hull of the ship. The sea was churning so badly that she hadn't been able to see it. Now that she did, she used the clinging mollusks on the hull to work her way around the ship and climb up the side. About now she started to miss her legs. They would've made the whole ordeal _way _easier. She'd just managed to peak over the edge of the rail when Gibbs spotted her.

"Ziva!" He gasped and darted over to where she was clinging. Then, he noticed that her lower body had gone aquatic and he paled. Sailors were rushing over to see what the commotion was about and he didn't doubt that they'd skewer her or worse. "Ziva, let go. Now!"

"How am I supposed to find you again?" she hissed. "I'm a fish!"

"I don't know, but if you don't let go…" he glanced over his shoulders at the now running men. "Just do what I—good!" When he looked back, she was gone.

Hitting the sea again was not fun. It hurt like hell and she nearly got her head taken off by the rudder as she fell under the boat. But she escaped no worse for wear and began swimming behind the boat, struggling to keep up as the storm swelled dangerously. Then, the ship broke against a rock. Sailors went flying this way and that into the ocean. Ziva forced herself to utilize what was left of her strength to guide the rescue boat to the sailors. She kept well below the water to hide what she was, knowing that Gibbs would berate her anyway for getting involved. When she surfaced again, she head Gibbs calling frantically from the boat for Tony, who had fallen overboard while Ziva had struggled to help the sailors.

She dove back into the water, searching the waves for her partner feverishly. Finally, she spotted him and dragged him back up to the surface…but the boat and all the sailors were gone. She didn't know how long she could keep him above the water, but she struggled against her failing strength to get him back to shore and safety.

-

Author Note: Just to clarify for those who were confused...

This whole thing is a dream. So although Ari is dead, Ziva still feels guilt for killing him, thus making him appear to confront her about his death. The other relatives like Tali that are also dead appear for the same reason, but she only feels remorse for their deaths. So...in the real world they are dead and even in the dream world Ziva knows that this is true...but in the past section she was more or less musing about "what would they say to me today."

I got a little psychological back there. :)

In other news! Congratulations everybody! We did it! As of this posting we have 17 reviews! When we get to 30 I will TRIPLE post!!

Since I know this is an awful short chapter...I'm going to actually going to post a bonus one in addition to the promised second post.

Aren't I nice? :)

Show your appreciation and click that button like there's no tomorrow!!

Thanks to everybody who's reviewing! Thanks for the praise, the WTFs and for pointing out my typos for me. :)

I love all of you!


	13. Poor Unfortunate Souls

Poor Unfortunate Souls

__

If You Want to Cross The Bridge,

My Sweet,

You've Got to Pay the Toll

Ziva had beached herself in her struggle to get Tony ashore. It'd been difficult enough to make it such a distance with his weight, and she hadn't thought about the dangers of staying on the land for too long. Now, the storm had lifted and the sun was coming up. The heat was starting to suck up the water left on her skin and she knew it wouldn't be long before her fins started to burn. But her physical and emotional strength was gone. She couldn't have pulled herself back into the sea if she'd wanted to. And she had no desire to leave her partner again, especially now that he wasn't waking up. She was afraid of never finding him again. And she was afraid that he was dying.

Or…was that her?

Then, Gibbs showed up. "Ziva! Are you out of your mind?" He grabbed her by the arm and dragged her back into the water. "Swim, damn it!"

She flopped in the shallows for a moment before she managed to maneuver her way into deeper water. "How did you find us?"

"Luck." Gibbs checked for Tony's vitals. "Seems like DiNozzo's all right."

"Good." Ziva sank down to her eyeballs for a moment. "Will I be able to find you here again?"

"Yeah, Tony's castle is up the beach about a quarter of a mile."

"Tony's _castle?_"

"Yep. He's the prince." Gibbs sighed. "We're all here. You're the only one who's been separated. And I don't have any idea how to fix that."

Ziva backpedaled and lifted her tail above the water before letting it drop back in with an ugly flop. "Last time we were in a story book. I wonder if that's still the case."

"I think they're actually Disney movies." Gibbs rubbed his chin. "At least…that'd explain why you were all dogs when this started."

"Either way…can we use that to figure out how to solve this problem?" Ziva gestured to her tail. "There was a film about a mermaid, yes?"

"Yeah. Kelly used to…" Gibbs grew silent for a moment. "Do you really think we're in The Little Mermaid?"

"Is that the name of it?" Ziva dismissed his reply with a wave. "It doesn't matter. What do I have to do?"

"To turn human? In the movie, the mermaid talked to a sea witch but—Ziva! Wait!" Gibbs cried, but it was too late.

-

Strangely enough, Ursula wasn't that hard to find. Her home kind of stood out. Ziva had gleaned the description from a passing trout and quickly located the bizzare coral formation. Once inside, she found the sea witch quite helpful. More helpful than she'd dared to hope, actually.

"Terrible situation, truly dreadful!" Ursula crooned after Ziva had explained the situation. "I suppose I could help…for a price."

"What do you need?" Ziva asked.

"Hmm…I'd ask for your voice, but you don't seem to have much of one in the first place." Ursula began grumbling to herself, overriding Ziva's outraged protest. "Oh yes…I will do you this one favor, if you agree to let me test my new spell on you first. It's supposed to work…eh hem, much better anyway."

Certain that she wouldn't be killed in a Disney movie, she held out her hand. "A deal."

-

Author Note: Yeah, I wasn't sure if the cast should know where they are or not but I finally decided that they should figure things out. It'll make things interesting in the section after TLM is done…perhaps too interesting! But this whole project is already finalized and such so don't worry, it won't drop dead halfway through like my last fic did. I learned my lesson. :)

What do you think? Typical Ziva? :)

Do you think she just had a good idea or a serious brain fart?

Voice your thoughts!


	14. Kiss the Girl

Kiss The Girl

__

Don't Try to Hide it

How You Wanna

Kiss the Girl

Tony had sworn to kill Ziva himself after Gibbs had explained the situation. Still, knowing the basic plot of the movie he was trapped in bred an advantage he'd been lacking before. Now, he knew that Ziva would soon reappear on this beach, mute and dumbfounded by how easily she'd been tricked. He'd kiss her, and all their problems would be solved. And he couldn't help but cringe at the mere thought of her reaction. Tony knew they weren't going to suddenly fall in love and then skip off and get married. At best, they'd all finally wake up. At worst, they'd get transported into some other Disney movie from hell.

A splash caught his attention. He ran into the surf to pull Ziva out while she gasped for air. In his rush, though, he couldn't help but notice that she was completely naked. In shock, he dropped her back into the water. Then, just as quickly, he recovered and pulled her out. He gave her his shirt to shield herself. Unfortunately, it took her a great deal of time to recover from her near-drowning. The moment she did, still coughing, she snapped at him for staring. Flustered, he averted his eyes until she managed to pull the shirt over her head. It was long, and hung to her mid-thigh, but Tony still found himself uncomfortably aware of her body beneath the shirt.

"So…did you sell your soul?" Tony asked.

"No," Ziva took a deep breath, reveling in the influx of oxygen. "The witch just asked me to be a German pig."

"Do you mean Guinea pig?" Tony made a face.

Glaring, she nodded. "Yes. She tried out a new spell on me."

"Well, shit." Tony scratched his head. "I thought our big bad spy wasn't that gulible."

"What do you mean?" Ziva gestured to herself. "I'm human aren't I? And I'm alive."

"According to the story, you shouldn't be able to talk." He scowled. "I don't know why things turned out different, but I'm willing to bet that this spell was some sort of curse."

"You worry too much." She patted him on the cheek. "I am perfectly fine."

"Well, just to be safe…" Tony leaned into her. "I think I'd better kiss you."

"Mmm…I don't think so." She gently pushed him back.

Miffed, he folded his arms across his chest. "Look, I'm Prince Charming and if I kiss you, the bad parts of the spell go away."

"I think I'll risk it." She brushed past him and began marching up to the castle.

He had trouble catching up to her and ending up breaking into a pseudo-run. "It's not like I mean anything romantic!" He stopped short when she whirled around to face him. Even with his 'razor-sharp' reflexes, he nearly barreled right into her.

"Then why would you suggest something like that?" Ziva snapped. "Didn't you get enough of that nonsense when we were undercover?"

"That was a long time ago!" He knew the moment he said it that it was the last thing that should have flown out of his mouth. "That's not what I meant!"

"Then what _do_ you mean, Tony? I'm tired of trying to figure it out!" For a moment, her iron mask cracked and the hurt in her eyes surfaced.

"Ziva?"

"Never mind." Ziva turned away from him and resumed her march. "Let's get to the castle, find the others and get home."

"No." He grabbed her arm and forced her to stop. "You talk to me. Right now. I thought we'd come to an understanding in the last world. What changed?"

"Nothing _changed_, Tony." She growled in obvious frustration. "I'm still what I am, and I don't know if you can accept that or even if you want to."

"I can! I have!" He moved his arms to her shoulders and gave her a little shake. "What do I have to do to get that through your head?"

Ziva lowered her eyes, her brow furrowed in distress. "Maybe it is just me. I can't figure this out. Well, I can…but I can't."

"Is this really about what I think, or what you think?" He lifted her chin, forcing her to look him in the eyes. "Ziva?"

"I don't know," she muttered. "Maybe that's the curse."

"No, that one's all you." Tony released her. "When you're ready to talk, I'm ready to listen."

-

"Come out you little bastard and fight like a man!" McGee screamed as he stabbed under the kitchen stove with a giant fork.

"McGee!" Abby exclaimed.

McGee jolted and swore as he banged his head on a cuboard door. "Abby, don't do that!"

"If the crab was smart enough to get away, he probably deserves to live." Abby dropped her tea tray on the counter, letting the silverware and fine china totter dangerously close to crashing. "Come on, Tony and Ziva are back. Let's get out of here."

"Did he kiss her yet?" McGee asked before sticking a burnt finger in his mouth.

Abby shook her head. "He's not going to. Ziva seems fine and she's not letting him do any precautionary smooching."

"It would've been a sight, wouldn't it?" McGee laughed. "I mean, her trying to kill him. It would have been funny."

"Nothing about this is funny, McGee." Abby scowled, serious. "The sky could come crashing down at any minute and you're making jokes?"

"I forgot that you're the only one allowed to do that." He smirked.

Her mouth formed a round 'O' and then, before McGee had a chance to defend himself, she smashed the entire tea set over his big empty head.

-

"Abby, was that necessary?" Gibbs swore at the sight of an unconscious McGee.

"He deserved it!" Abby pouted.

"Well, at least you made the hit a good one." Ziva bent down to pick glass out of McGee's hair. "He probably won't remember who hit him or if--why…he deserved it," Ziva corrected herself when she saw the goth's expression.

"It's strange that we're all in the same room and nothing's happening." Tony mused. "Usually when we get this close it means we're done."

"Maybe it doesn't count if McGee is unconsious." Ziva shrugged.

Gibbs frowned. "I think it still counts."

The others followed his gaze to the floor. It was beginning to crack, shifting and shaking with minature tremors. Tony and Ziva exchanged a look, both wondering what would happen next. He reached out to grab her hand, hoping that if he managed to keep a hold of her, they wouldn't be separated again. As he reached out, a black cloud suddenly snaked out of her. She screamed and writhed under the shadow. Then, both specter and Ziva vanished into thin air, the floor shattered and the team fell into the abyss.

-

Author Note: This next area I decided to throw in at the last minute. It seemed to fit well with the basic plotline I'd already established. Anyways…onward to Olympus!

Thanks to everybody who's reviewing!


	15. Go the Distance

Go the Distance

__

I Will Find my Way

I Can Go the Distance

I Don't Care How Far

Somehow I'll Be Strong

Tony hit the ground running. He'd spotted a flash of black smoke by the waterfall and he knew Ziva was the source. Without stopping to think about the danger, he charged head long into the water and slammed into a giant blue centaur. It screamed and flew back into the rock wall of the falls. Tony stumbled back, arms outstretched for balance. Ziva fell right into his arms. But he could hardly feel her weight. He felt such raw_ power._ Grinning, he repositioned Ziva in his arms and adopted a heroic grin.

"So, come here often?" he asked.

"Tony, I could have handled him!" Ziva snapped. "Why did you have to ass in?"

"Butt in, Zee-vah." He set her down on a rock. "Man, talk about luck, huh?"

"Luck?" Ziva grimaced. "I suppose."

A pegasus came out of the trees, dragging itself and wheezing badly. "Guys…what happened?"

"Is that you, Probie?" Tony made a face. "Well, leave it to you to keep coming out looking like a horse's ass."

"Very funny, Tony." McGee shook himself.

"Well, since Probie can fly…why don't we just head topside and see if we can spot Abby and Gibbs?" Tony helped the pegasus stand up.

"I don't think McGee can carry either of us. He can barely keep _himself_ airborne." Ziva turned away from them. "But…I know where Abby and Gibbs are."

"Where?" McGee asked, perking up.

Ziva hesitated before gesturing east. "Thebes."

"How do you know?" McGee's eyes narrowed.

"Because there's a hydra there waiting to kill us." Tony smirked. "Isn't that right, Megera?"

"I am not Megera!" Ziva hissed. "But you're right, there's a hydra. And the hydra is Abby."

"Is not!" McGee exclaimed.

Ziva leered at him. "Hades turned her into one."

"And you know because that spell Ursula put on you made you his slave." Tony laughed at the crazy situation.

"Y-yes. That, it appears, is true." Ziva flushed angrily.

"Megera!" Tony pointed at her, then himself. "Hercules! I am detecting a pattern here."

"No, you're not." Ziva turned her back on him. "Now, how do we fix this? Gibbs is in town, probably trying to reach Abby through Hades' magic. And Abby is a nine-headed dragon trying to eat everybody else."

"Business as usual, then?" Tony laughed, clapping her on the shoulder. "So, Sweet Cheeks…why don't we skip the foreplay and head straight to the heart of the plot?"

"You aren't suggesting what I think you are." Ziva paled.

Tony flexed his muscles. "I'm feeling immortal, let's go kick Hades' ass."

-

Author's Note: Yes, I am aware of how cheesy this whole thing is but so is Fantasmic yet it somehow manages to be beautiful in a thousand ways. The whole idea of Tony being Hercules popped into my head while fighting Hercules in Kingdom Hearts and the idiot kept kissing his biceps and flexing like an idiot. Made me think of Tony for some odd reason. :)

Don't forget to review!


	16. Zero to Hero

Zero To Hero

__

Rising High

And the Nicest Guy

Not Conceited

The trio marched into the underworld. Though it was painfully obvious that Tony was over-confident in his new abilities, Ziva and McGee were suitably scared shitless as they walked along the shore of the river, Styx. Souls splashed around within the sickly green river, clawing at the surface in their hunger to escape the grip of death. Ziva looked down into the pool, feeling nasiated by the thought that there was a strong possibility she would end up down there before the story ended. Then, she turned her gaze to the steroid-enhanced Tony and wondered if he really would dive into that mess to save her. As her thoughts continued to mull around, she forced herself to remember that the plots of the other Disney worlds hadn't exactly followed the script. She couldn't rely on her knowledge of the films or the Greek mythology that this one had been based on. All they could rely on was Tony, since he was the protagonist of this world and endowed with super-human strength.

They were screwed.

"Hey, cheer up. This'll be fine. Just a quick bad-guy whooping and we're out of here. It'll be fine." Tony flashed a grin at his disturbed partner.

Ziva scowled at him. "Easy for you to say, you're not the one that keeps dying."

"Yeah," McGee agreed. "And, if you recall, it's usually your fault that Ziva ends up dead."

Guilty, Tony turned his eyes back to the path ahead of them. "I know, but I've been doing my best. And I have to focus on keeping us all safe, not just one person. Of all of us, Ziva is the one who is most capable of taking care of herself."

"I hope I get to be Maleficent in the next world and torch your charming ass." Ziva snapped furiously. "I'm sick of being the damsel in distress. It seems like no matter what I do I end up making things worse."

"So you admit that this is your fault?" Tony smirked.

She gaped stupidly for a moment before shaking her head furiously. "This is not my fault! In no way is this my fault!"

"You're the one who got cursed by the sea witch," he gestured.

"He's got a point." McGee nickered.

Ziva adopted a very ugly sneer and gave Tony a look that could've killed a mortal man. "I wouldn't have done it if it weren't for you!"

"So you admit that you love me, Sweet Cheeks?" Tony flexed his muscles.

She knew it would be pointless to hit him, but she still gave him a nice hard head slap. "Stop being such a frog!"

"Did you mean pig?" He grinned as he earned himself another head-slap. "I'm just kidding! I know you want to keep it professional."

"Good!" She picked up the pace so she wouldn't have to look at him, trying to remember a time when their relationship had ever been classifiable as 'professional.'

Before she found her answer, Hades and his three-headed dog appeared on the path in front of them. Tony flexed his muscles again, grinning at the idea of the upcoming challenge. He relished the idea of showing off his newfound strength, especially since Ziva was there to witness it.

"Hades!" Tony roared, hoisting his gladius. "Take the spell off of Abby and Ziva, right now!"

The big blue burning bad guy simply laughed at him in response. "And what do you intend to do about it if I refuse, Wonder Breath?"

"I'm gonna kick your ass," Tony announced.

"And I suppose you expect that to break the curse, hmm?" Hades chuckled, wiping a tear from his eye. "Hoo…you're a real funny guy."

Tony stumbled over his words and glanced at Ziva for support. She groaned and shook her head. McGee did the same. Seeing the pure stupidity of his idea at last, Tony tried his best not to show the defeat he felt…but his shoulders slumped.

"What do you want, then?" Tony asked.

"I want you to give up your strength for the next twenty four hours." Hades gave a sinister grin.

"While you take over Mt. Olympus?" Tony glared.

"Pretty much, yeah." Hades nodded.

"Tony…" Ziva warned.

"What does any of that have to do with us?" Tony whispered to her. "We just have to concentrate on getting out of here."

"You don't see any consequences?" She glanced between him and Hades. "Is it right to just hand the world to the devil on a silver platter?"

"It's not real, Ziva." Tony snapped. "This is all just a dream."

"That still doesn't make it right." She turned away from him. "Do what you think is best, but I have a bad feeling about all this." Then, without waiting to find out what he would do, Ziva led McGee back out of the underworld

-

Author Note: Oh, come on! My choice of lyrics is kind of funny! Maybe? A little bit? Okay, I'll give you that one. Review!


	17. I Won't Say

I Won't Say

__

If There's a Prize for Rotten Judgement

I Guess I've Already Won That

No Man is Worth the Aggravation

That's Ancient History

Been There, Done That

Tony found Ziva and McGee camped out within Thebes. With them was a satyr-rendered Gibbs that seemed even more irritable than the woman and pegasus combined. When no one seemed willing to talk to him, Tony walked over to the fountain and sat down, wondering if he'd made the right decision. After an eternity, Ziva walked over and sat down beside him.

"Are you talking to me?" Tony asked.

"You are my partner," she sighed. "I may not like the choices you make, but I will stand by your decision. You are right, you've been doing the best you can."

"Would you still say that if I'd actually taken the offer?" he smirked.

She looked surprised. "You said no?"

"Isn't that what you said I should do?" He patted her on the knee. "You were right. Even if none of this is real, that's no reason to forget what we're all about. And if you're willing to stay cursed…that's your choice and I should respect that. Though I bet it's going to cause us a world of trouble until we get it fixed."

"We?"

"Yeah, we."

She was silent for a long time. Then, she let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding. "I'm more worried about how we're going to get Abby out of this."

"Not a clue." Tony groaned. "Maybe McGee can kiss her and break that one."

"Ah, but which head?" Ziva smirked.

Tony laughed. "Maybe if we all go down to the hydra's lair, we'll jump to a new world again and the situation will be more manageable there."

"It's an idea." She stood up, taking him by the hand. "Let's go."

Grinning, he glanced over at McGee and Gibbs. The pair were already trotting over to join them. Wordlessly, the reassembled group marched down to the hydra's lair. They had barely set foot into the arena when the nine-headed dragon began to slink out toward them. The ground cracked under Abby's massive bulk.

Tony grabbed Ziva, McGee and Gibbs in a group hug, crying out "here we go again!" Then, the earth shattered, bringing the entire team through another layer of darkness and closer to the heart of the realm.

-

Author Note: Yeah, a comparatively short section, I know. Ready kiddies? Brace yourselves and get ready for the grand finale! We're off to Pride Rock! Review!

As a side note: I might not be posting this weekend. Brisingr is being released and I am going to be quarenteened for the next 48 hours. Trust me...you don't want to see that. O.o

But...I might just upload it all in one day too. Whatever ends up panning out. :)

I've just written seventy pages in less than ten days. O.O

I know. And I ain't getting paid for any of it. HA,HA,HA

Such is life. Share the love!


	18. Circle of Life

Circle of Life

__

It's the Circle of Life

And it Moves Us All

Through Despair and Hope

Through Faith and Love

"Oof!" Tony hit the ground rolling. He slammed into a rock with another loud grunt. His little fuzzy body flopped upside down. As he lie flat on his back, swearing and rubbing his head with his paws, he vaguely remembered the weird events he'd already endured. He took in his surroundings carefully before climbing to his feet. He was at the base of a massive rock shaped like the letter "K." Somewhere in the back of his head he recognized it as Pride Rock.

He ambled over to a pool of water to check his reflection, heart pounding. Just as he was about to look, a childish growl caught his attention. Tony whipped around to face the cub. His jaw dropped. Looking straight at him was a magnificent lion cub with dark roan fur and amber eyes that held an endless depth. She was all paws and moved without the graceful glory of a full grown lioness, but the beauty of the animal was still evident even in her youth. In fact, Tony could think of no time when he had ever found a cat of any kind so beautiful. He hunched his body shyly, only forcing himself to straighten out when she approached him with her head held high.

Tony glanced over his shoulder to see that he too, was unusually dark. "Who are you?" He squeaked then recoiled in alarm at his voice. He sounded like he had before he'd hit puberty. He immediately prayed that he wouldn't have to endure that trauma again on top of everything else.

A minute passed while she stared at him. Then two. The young lioness wouldn't speak. A little golden lion cub ran up to join them. He was noticeably smaller than the female, showing that she was several months older. "Hey, Ziva. Maybe this is him."

"I would not know." The dark cub narrowed her eyes. "But he is different from the others. Tony?"

"Yeah." Tony flashed the smuggest look he could. "Were you out looking for little old me?"

"It's him all right." The gold grumbled.

"You look like Simba." Tony commented. "Is that who you are?"

"It's me, McGee, Tony." The gold glared.

"Are you shitting me right now?" Tony squeeked again.

"We were going to check out the watering hole. You wanna come, Tony?" McGee asked.

"No I don't." Tony glared. "Probie, tell me I'm not the only person who's seen this movie."

"Sorry, but it appears you are." McGee smirked. "Abby made us promise to meet her up there."

"Are you out of your mind?" Tony snapped. "Where is Gibbs? Surely he told you not to go out there."

"He told us not to go the shadowy place out there." McGee gestured to the north. "Which is close to the Waterhole, I guess. We'll just make sure Abby doesn't get too carried away."

"You don't have to come if you don't want to, DiNozzo." Ziva started walking. "But we had best appease Abby if we ever want to get out of here."

"Fine, fine, I'm coming." Tony swore and ran after them. "But for the record, I said this was a bad idea and Ziva, when you get yourself killed this time, it is not my fault!"

-

Interesting…interesting as always. You'll find out why I didn't make Tony Simba and Ziva Nala later. Mwahaha!!

Don't forget Reviews!!


	19. Just Can't Wait to Be King

Just Can't Wait to be King

__

I'm Gonna Be the Mane Event

Like No King Was Before

McGee and Ziva bounded ahead, laughing and chasing butterflies while Tony lurked behind them with Zazu circling overhead. It bewildered him to see Ziva running so happily and carefree with the young lion, acting as if she'd never seen or done the things she had. She seemed pure and child-like…which was probably fitting since they were, for whatever reason, cubs. When they reached the watering hole, the three cubs curled up in the shade of a tree. Abby soon appeared in the guise of a pale, cream colored cub even smaller than McGee. In spite of her incredible youth, however, it seemed that all of her tattoos had transferred onto her lion body. Which made Tony wonder when she'd started mutilating herself. Abby began weaving her wild plot to reach the Elephant Graveyard. Now, not even Ziva was eager to follow her lead.

"That sounds dangerous, Abby," Ziva said, shaking her head. "Maybe we _should_ go back and talk to Gibbs."

"Danger, puh! I laugh in the face of danger! Ha, ha, ha, ha!" Abby crouched. "Don't tell me you're afraid too, Tony?"

"Of course I'm afraid. There's hyenas there." Tony shuddered. "And we aren't exactly big enough to fight them off, are we?"

"Size doesn't matter, we can out smart them." Abby bounded off. "Well, I'm going. I'm not going to pass up a chance like this just because you guys are all scaredy cats!"

"Abby!" McGee groaned and raced after her.

"Those two are going to get in a great deal of trouble if we don't help." Ziva mumbled. "Come on, Tony. We'd better go too."

"Why don't you people listen to me?" Tony swore as he fell in step with his partner. "Didn't I say this was a bad idea? Didn't I say it?"

"You did. Many times. So please, stop complaining!" Ziva broke to a steady trot. "It's up to us to make sure no one gets hurt. Let's just do our job."

"Where is Zazu anyway?" Tony demanded. "Shouldn't he be stopping us?"

"He's been detained." Ziva gestured to a nearby tree where the hornbill was chatting up a pretty bird. "We're on our own."

Tony laughed and muttered "flitterpated" under his breath, a word he didn't bother to translate to Ziva.

-

Hmm…what shall happen next, my lovelies? Let us find out…Mwahaha!

Don't forget the reviews!


	20. Chow Down

Chow Down

__

Get ready to roll

Won't be long to wait

Seeing you're already toasted brown!

Chow Down!

Ziva scouted ahead as they explored the Elephant graveyard while Tony followed behind the smaller McGee and Abby. Once or twice he even snapped one or the other up by their nape just before they stumbled over a steam vent ready to burst. Besides the unnaturally prominent seismic activity, however, they encountered little danger until they found a hollowed out skull perfect for hiding in. Ziva strode forward to examine it. Within the arch of its rotted tusks she froze and sniffed at the air nervously.

"I don't like this, Tony." She whispered.

"Me neither." Tony tucked his tail between his legs. "It's too familiar. I think this is where the hyenas are waiting to ambush us."

The two younger cubs ignored them both. Abby trotted up to Ziva with McGee at her side. The gold hummed thoughtfully. "I wonder if its brains are still in there."

"There's only one way to know." Abby grinned at him.

"Oh God." Tony lied flat on the ground and covered his eyes trembling. "There's no place like home, there's no place like home."

"What's with him?" Abby raised an eyebrow.

"Maybe this movie is why Tony hates cats." McGee laughed. "I've never seen him act like this before."

"But he hasn't been talking about cats." Ziva shook her head. "He is worried about hyenas."

"What is a hyena?" McGee made a face.

Tony stopped his cowering to gawk at McGee. "What is a hyena? I'll tell you, Probie. They are evil, laughing buzzards with fangs that come after little lions in the night."

"He's lost it." Abby made the coo-coo gesture.

Just then, the hyenas flanked them. There were six of them, outnumbering the cubs three to two. Seeing the size of the dog-like beasts temporarily sobered the entire group. Tony managed to squeak out a brisk "told you so" before the hyenas began to circle in. Tony and Ziva exchanged a look. Ziva picked Abby up by her nape while Tony did the same to McGee. They waited a moment longer, then ran as fast as they could.

The hyenas followed, hot on their heals. Terror driven, Tony and Ziva raced blindly through the bone yard. They tried to find any path back into the Pridelands, but the graveyard was a labyrinth of skeletons and rotten bodies. It was all too soon that they found themselves trapped at a dead end. Tony and Ziva dropped their charges and stepped between them and the hyenas.

"Rawr!" McGee mewed.

The hyenas laughed. When Abby joined them, they laughed all the harder. By the time Ziva had lifted her voice, they were rolling. Then, Tony stepped forward, opened his mouth and an explosive roar shook the bone yard. The hyenas exclaimed. Then, a silver maned lion with powder-white fur sailed over the cubs and sent the hyenas flying with one swipe of his massive paw. The hyenas didn't even try to fight back, they bolted from the scene.

"Gibbs…" Abby started.

"Didn't I tell you, in plain English, _not_ to come here?" He roared.

Abby paled and cowered behind Tony and Ziva.

"We are sorry, Gibbs." Ziva lowered her eyes.

Gibbs turned his attention to Tony and waited. "Why is nothing happening?"

"What?" Tony asked.

"We are all here." Gibbs gestured. "And nothing is happening."

The cubs looked at each other. He was right. "Looks like the rules have changed," Ziva commented. "Maybe we have reached the heart of the world."

"Maybe." Gibbs tapped his foot. "We'll try and figure that out in the morning. Come, let's go home."

Tony and Ziva took up the rear as the King led them back to Pride Rock. "I take it that wasn't your roar," Ziva chuckled.

"No." Tony mumbled as a strange pallor crossed his face.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"N-nothing. Nothing." Tony picked up his pace to avoid answering her. A look of concern crossed her face but she allowed him to escape the topic.

For now.

-

Oh yeah, you all know what's really bothering Tony. ;)

Are his fears well-grounded or is our boy getting paranoid?

Let us find out!

This next chapter is the most intense yet!

Don't forget the review.


	21. Be Prepared

Be Prepared

__

So Prepare for the Chance of a Lifetime

Be Prepared for Sensational News

A Shining New Era

Is Tiptoeing Nearer

A dark lion led the four cubs out to a canyon the following morning, explaining that Gibbs had business to attend to as the King and couldn't be disturbed until later in the day. They were to play here, far from trouble. Then, he left them behind with the promise that Gibbs would join them soon.

McGee, Abby and Ziva chased each other around in the middle of the gorge while Tony sat on a rock beneath an Acacia tree. He watched his friends with a vacant look on his face. His jaw was set, rendering his face unreadable. Even when the others began to playfully practice their roars, he remained distant, turning his eyes to the cliffs hovering over them like evil, ant burning children.

He laid his head on his paws and sighed. "Guys…that's not a good idea."

"Why not?" McGee asked. "You just don't want to show us your real roar, do you?"

"Come on, Tony. Just one!" Abby begged.

Ziva exchanged a look with Tony. "You look ill, DiNozzo."

"Have you lost your roar?" McGee teased.

"I have not." Tony filled up his lungs and screamed at McGee with all the fury a child could muster. "If I told you what the problem was, you wouldn't listen to me anyway! None of you ever do! We should not be here! I don't trust that guy! He is going to kill Gibbs!"

"Who?" Ziva tilted her head. "Vahn?"

Tony's eyes dilated. "His name is Vahn?"

"Ironic, considering the director's name is Vahn." Ziva nodded. "We thought you knew."

"What's that?" McGee jolted as the ground began to shake. "Earthquake?"

"No." Tony whipped around to face the cliffs, gritting his teeth. "Wildebeast."

The others gasped at the sight of the herd rushing down toward them like a river breaking free of a dam. Tony broke free of the shock first. He snapped up McGee, turned tail and ran. Ziva was only a moment slower in scooping up Abby. The two smaller cubs fought the urge to wiggle free and run on their own. Tony and Ziva were much larger and could run faster, even when slowed by the weight of their smaller comrades. But it was hard not to struggle, especially when the larger lions leap over obstacles and landed too heavily, jarring their charges. On one particularly nasty maneuver, Ziva's teeth tore Abby's nape and a thin trickle of blood began to seep down the cub's back. The taste startled Ziva enough to make her drop her precious cargo. McGee saw Abby fall and ripped free of Tony's grasp to run after her.

Tony cried out and charged back toward the oncoming wildebeasts to save the others. He soared past Ziva, straight into the herd. She screamed at him but he paid no heed to the warning. He had always felt like a big brother to them both, the thought of failing them in their hour of need was unbearable.

He was within inches of the two small cubs when the Wildebeasts converged on their location. Too terrified to pay any mind to the children beneath their feet, the stampeding animals ran straight at them. A wildebeast's hoof landed on Abby's soft skull, crushing it like an over-ripe mellon. McGee wailled for her. Even Ziva let out a long mournful peal. But Tony did not allow himself the luxury. He ran straight to McGee, intent on saving whoever he still could. With Probie in his mouth again, Tony resumed his flight. He ran past Ziva. He shouted a muffled command to follow him but didn't pause to see it she would obey. Tony had to rely on her to be as strong as she had always been, even when limited by a childish form.

A wildebeast bashed into Tony as he ran, rolling him back into the danger zone. McGee tumbled away. Hooves rained down upon the little cub, crushing his rib cage with a careless step. Tony flipped upright again, tears now stinging his eyes as he fought his way through the herd. He called for Ziva but she didn't hear him. With no time to worry, Tony weaved his wave to the side of the cliffs and pounced on the rocky wall. Thanking Jeanne for all that rock-climbing experience, Tony scaled the cliff one step at a time. As soon as he found a little ledge that would support his bulk, he collapsed, panting. He stared over the edge and searched for Ziva. The herd was nearly past them now. If she could hold on for a few more minutes…there!

Tony spotted her toward the rear of the now thinning group. Then…disaster. A hoof struck her in the forehead and she fell to the ground. She did not get back up. Horrified, Tony turned his eyes to the cliffs around him, searching for Vahn. The dark lion had Gibbs pinned against the edge of a higher cliff.

The two titans clashed in a flurry of fangs and fur. Gibbs sank his teeth into the darker lion. Vahn slashed with his monstrous claws. The silver lion exclaimed as the weakened rock under his feet slipped and he fell off the edge only to catch himself a few feet below. Vahn climbed down to him and grasped Gibbs' paws with his. Gibbs roared. For a moment, the dark lion simply stared at him, as if considering mercy. Then, with a whispered word, Vahn released Gibbs and the silver lion fell to his death.

"Boss!" Tony charged back down the cliff, where no more wildebeest ran. The herd had left the scene of carnage behind them. Tony's keening intensified whenever he passed the corpse of a friend. McGee…Abby…then, Gibbs. "No!" Tony roared, slamming his paws against the ground. "This is all wrong! All of it!"

"So it would seem." Vahn growled as he appeared out of the dust, flanked by the hyenas. "Both the king…and the prince…are gone. And the princess as well?" He shook his head, still snarling. "You have a great deal to answer for, young one."

"This was not my fault." Tony asserted. "It was you! You split the team apart, you destroyed our family! _You!_"

"You're wrong, Tony." Vahn's eyes darkened. "It is your fault Jenny is dead. You abandoned her when she was most in need, and she lost her life because of it. In return, I have taken away all that is dear to you. It is no less than you deserve."

Tony took a step back, his eyes to the ground. Guilt rushed through him, trampling him from the inside out like the wildebeests had trampled his friends. "What am I going to do?" he asked himself.

Vahn, of course, had the answer. "Run away, DiNozzo. And never return."

Tony looked at the hyenas with tears running down his cheeks. "You're going to kill me if I run."

"And I will kill you if you do not. Make your choice." Vahn sneered. "I shall count to three." Behind him, the hyenas licked their lips. "One…two…"

Tony bolted toward the side canyon, ignoring the snapping jaws just behind him. He could feel their hot breath on his tail, it was all he could do to stay one step ahead of them. Seeing the thorn bushes and safety just ahead, he poured on the steam and ran as hard and fast as he could. Just as the hyenas were upon him, he dove into the brambles, cutting himself on their twisted thorns and branches. Even though he knew he was safe, he kept running until he'd cleared the thorns and crossed into the desert. Behind him, he heard the hyena's cry out their deadly threat.

-

Oh shit, now what?

Come on, you know you're dying to know what happens next!

Review!


	22. Endless Night

Endless Night

__

Where Has the Starlight Gone?

Dark is the Day

How Can I Find my Way Home?

By chance, Tony stumbled across an oasis, but he found no cheerful meerkat or warthog to nurse him back to health or provide much needed companionship. He was alone. Time passed quickly, and Tony grew into a mighty adult lion within the loving tropical paradise. But not a day went by when he didn't find himself staring at the sky, remembering the bodies of his friends crushed against the canyon floor. For a while, he tried to discover a way to get home, but he eventually gave up the prospect and quietly accepted this as his new life. Just as he had back at the beginning in New York City.

Tonight, Tony stared up at the stars as usual, wondering if the great kings of the past really were up there, looking out for him. Was Gibbs up there? Then, unbidden, his thoughts turned to Ziva. He remembered her musical accent and her inability to comprehend most slang. He remembered the moment they first met, how embarrassed he had been. Then, he remembered the last time he had seen her, back at NCIS. The look of horror on her face when Vahn terminated her liaison position. It had been as if the man had condemned her to death. Perhaps he had.

Tony slumped to the ground with a shallow groan. "I can't go on alone like this. Guys…if you're out there…please, forgive me. I'm an idiot. I should've…I should've…oh hell, I don't know what I should've done. What should I have done? How could I have changed this? Ziva!" He lifted himself from the ground and roared. "Gibbs! Abby! McGee! Why did you leave me here alone? Why didn't I die with you? Why am I still here?"

-

Little angsty, yes? But that's what The Lion King is about.

I love this song. It was the second piece that inspired this fanfic. Depressing, isn't it?

But there's another part in the song that goes "I know that the night must end/and that the clouds must clear/and the sun/the sun will rise"

Will the sun rise for Tony? Will he be able to get home alone, without hope or friendship to guide him? If so…how?

It'll be worth it! Keep reading and reviewing!!


	23. Can You Feel the Love Tonight?

Can You Feel the Love Tonight?

__

Can you Feel the Love Tonight?

The Peace the Evening Brings

The World for Once in Perfect Harmony

With All Its Living Things

The following day, a roar broke the silence of Tony's paradise, shattering his usual broodings. It was another lion, he realized and his ears flattened. If it was a female, great, a mate might be able to brighten up the darkness his life had become. A male on the other hand…would only make matters worse. Loath as he was to open a relationship with hostility, he unsheathed his claws and charged toward the roar. In the split second before he collided with the lion, he noticed it had no mane so he hopped away as quickly as he'd attacked.

"What are you doing in my territory?" Tony demanded. "You should know better than to wander in unannounced like that." He nodded toward the kill she'd just taken. "And don't tell me you were roaring to announce yourself, 'cause I know that ain't true. Did you come just to steal my food, lioness?"

The dark lioness blinked stupidly at him, jaws agape. Irritated, Tony started to raise his paw to whack the stupid out of her. Then, he noticed a peculiar scar on her head. It was shaped like a rather badly drawn, six pointed star. He thought of Ziva's necklace and wondered if perhaps this animal was some sort of sign. So, he put his paw back down and waited patiently for her to regain her ability to speak.

"Tony?" She managed. "Is that really you?"

"That's my name." He tilted his head. "Do I know you?"

"It's me, Ziva."

"Ziva?" He stared at her in disbelief. "You're dead. I saw you get kicked by that—"

"I was hurt badly, but I recovered." She lifted her head higher as if proud of the mark on her head. "I thought _you_ were dead. I lost you after McGee--"

Tony growled a warning. "I don't want to talk about it."

"I do not blame you." Her eyes softened. "It was not a good day for any of us."

"I can't tell you how glad I am that you're all right." Tony nuzzled her. "It's good to know I'm not the only one still here."

She purred, a small smile curling her lips. "I've missed you. Life has been so hard since you left."

"Vance took over the Pridelands, didn't he?" Tony pulled back. At her nod, he flattened his ears. "Are you here to convince me to fight him?"

"I could not live there any more." She shook her head. "When I left I had no intention of going back."

"Good, because I'm not going back." Tony sat down. "I'm going to spend the rest of my days here. There's plenty of food, water…everything you need."

Ziva chuckled. "I don't suppose there's enough for one more?"

"Maybe." He grinned. "It'll be tough, but I think both of us can survive here…maybe even start our own pride."

"Not even in your dreams, DiNozzo." She turned her back to him and flicked her tail playfully. "You could never catch me."

"Wanna bet?" He crouched low and sprang at her.

Laughing she dodged him and took off running across the oasis. They chased each other through their paradise for hours on end. Whenever Tony managed to catch up with her, there was brief tussle before she escaped his clutches and kept running. Toward evening they ended their game and wandered toward the pool in the center of the oasis to drink. Then, Ziva bid him goodnight and vanished into the trees. No matter how hard he looked he could not find her. Her temporary absence didn't trouble him, he knew she would find him again in the morning. Content at last, he curled up beside the pool and dozed off, dreaming about the peaceful days that lie ahead.

-

Oh that was cute, wasn't it?

But will it stay cute?

How will Tony and Ziva finish the story?

Let us find out!

By the way, the mark on Ziva's head is used my other fanfic Wildcat and is a big wave to those of you that read it.

Don't forget to review!


	24. He Lives in You

He Lives in You

__

Into the Water

Into the Truth

In Your Reflection

He Lives in You

Tony woke with a start. Standing over him was a blue baboon supporting herself with a large stick decorated with gourds. She was laughing at him.

"Who the hell are you supposed to be?" Tony growled, rubbing his eyes. "Rafiki?"

"You've seen way too many movies, DiNozzo." She rolled her eyes.

At the voice, Tony's jaw dropped. "_Kate?_" He sputtered.

Still laughing, the baboon dissolved into nothing. Only her voice remained. "I am still here, Tony. Even though I'm gone, I'm still a part of the team, aren't I? So are the others. We are all here, with you. Always. We live in you."

Tony looked into the pool, staring at his own reflection. "Gibbs…McGee…Abby…are you really in there?" He closed his eyes. "That means…it's up to me. I can't just stay here, hoping that things will fall into place. I have to take on Vance myself. I have to finish the story this time."

"Tony? Who are you talking to?" Ziva leapt out of the bushes, leering into the vanishing shadows in search of friend and foe alike.

"Morning, Ziva." He grabbed her in a quick hug. "I've decided…I have to go back. It's enough that Vance split all of us apart, he shouldn't be allowed to destroy this world too. I have to stop him."

She looked at him with pride gleaming in her eyes. "Then, I'm coming with you. He doesn't have a chance against the pair of us."

"You can come." Tony nodded. "But I'm fighting Vance alone."

"I don't understand." Ziva angled her head.

"I'm not sure I do either, but this is my fight." Tony lifted his head and roared.

-

Wow…guess we just found out who's actually having these dreams, huh?

What is everybody thinking?

Here comes the grand finale!


	25. King of Pride Rock

King of Pride Rock

__

Till We Find Our Place

On the Path Unwinding

In the Circle

The Circle of Life

Even though Tony had expected such a gruesome sight, the scene still made him sick. The entire Savannah, once rich and green was now fruitless and gray. There wasn't even blood on the lifeless ground. It was as if, in an instant, the entire area had been turned to stone. He snarled as he stepped forward, crushing the sparse, blackened weeds beneath his feet. Ziva kept apace with him as they stalked the overbearing Priderock with both fear and fury in their eyes. At a gesture from her companion, the lioness broke away and began to make her approach from the back. Within the lightning among the clouds, Tony saw a brief flash of memory. This assault was not so different from those they had done as partners. Hopefully this would be one of their more successful missions, but he couldn't help but wish they had their guns.

Vance stood at the base of Priderock, yowling irrationally at an aging lioness with brindled red fur. Tony watched impassively until Vance shouted her name at a volume that made even the stone tremble.

"I am ten times the Director you were, Jenny!" Vance roared. "Do not mock me!"

"Even Jethro would make a better Director than you!" Jenny shouted back at him. "And nothing you say or do will change that! He will come!"

"Your partner is dead." Vance growled, eliciting a chill that crawled the length of Tony's spine. "He is not coming back for you."

"You're wrong!" Jenny shook her head. "In this world, the dead walk as if they were still living. Jethro is here!"

Tony looked around stupidly for a moment before he remembered Kate's words. Then…he looked toward Jenny with a sense of unreality. In the real world, she was dead. Why didn't that hold true here? As if to answer, the baboon materialized behind him with a sigh and a shake of her stick. "The heart wants what it wants, DiNozzo. You blame yourself for Jenny's death. You want a chance to correct your mistakes."

"I do. I want to save her." Tony crouched. "I will. This time, I will do things right."

"You can't change the past." Kate whacked him on the back of the head with her stick. "Don't do this to yourself, Tony."

When Tony turned back, Jenny's lion-rendered body lay on the ground. Her mouth was open, her eyes wide and lifeless. Roaring with righteous fury, Tony sprang from his hiding place and landed right in front of Vance. "Murderer!"

"She was sick, DiNozzo." Vance leered. "It is not my fault she fell over dead."

"Liar!" Tony roared. "You took everything away from me! Gibbs, McGee, Ziva, Abby! Why not take Jenny away as well? I'll make you pay for what you've done to us!"

"Don't you think you're being a bit over dramatic?" Vance grinned.

"Maybe he is." Ziva hissed, appearing behind Vance. "But I'm not."

"You're not getting away this time, Vance." Tony growled. "Face me!"

Vance glanced between the two lions nervously. Then, true to his cowardly nature, he ran. With a roar, Tony and Ziva chased him up Priderock to the uppermost spire for their final confrontation.

Lightning struck the dried ground bellow, sending the world up in a river of liquid fire. Sparks seemed to rain from the sky rather than the droplets that splattered the land in a fine mist. Tony slipped on the moistened stone and cracked his jaw. Ziva leapt over him and tackled Vance before he could take advantage of his adversary's mistake. A savage roar rippled out of her and added an impressive weight to her blows.

She batted Vance between her two massive paws, slicing open his cheeks with her claws. Lightning snapped overhead and opened up the clouds to reveal a tiny space in the heavens where specters of the past gazed down at the scene in the form of a million stars. Tony stared up at the spliced sky, blinking past the rain that spilled into his eyes. _Do it, DiNozzo_, an unknown voice murmured. _Be what you are. No more, no less. You are not your mistakes. Remember who you are._

"Tony!" Ziva screamed as Vance knocked her over the edge. She grappled onto the side of the cliff. Broken pieces of the gigantic rock tumbled to the fiery pit below her, igniting within the inferno with an unholy hiss. Vance grabbed her paws, lifting them ever so slightly to disconnect her from the meager handhold she'd found.

"Ah, this looks familiar, doesn't it?" Vance glanced over his shoulder, and for a brief moment the dark lion's shape changed ever so slightly. In a single bright flash of lightning, Ari was the one holding his sister suspended above her own doom. Ziva's eyes widened in shock at the unexpected twist. "Yes…quite familiar. Now I shall have my revenge, _dear_ sister."

Tony roared and leapt at the transformed demon. He landed on the lion's back and sank his teeth into its pelt. "You're not taking another partner from me!"

Ari released Ziva to confront his more pressing challenge. The lioness shrieked as she dropped but fell silent with a sickening crack. Now beyond the limit of mortal rage, Tony shook his head, tearing Ari's shoulder open with a wet crunch. Then, without pause, he threw himself from the dark lion's back to dive at his throat. Ari parried with flashing teeth. The dark lion tore Tony's muzzle with a tooth as they grappled. Blood scattered on the rock beneath them as the two males slashed and chompped at each other in a fight to the death. At a critical moment, Ari slipped in his own blood and fell to the ground. Tony never paused to consider mercy. As soon as the bastard fell, Tony was on him. Ari would never rise again.

He ripped apart his enemy's corpse needlessly and threw his head wildly as her roared out the depth of his bloody insanity. Finally, utterly spent, he collapsed on top of Ari…or was it Vance? Confused, he blinked at the dead lion and shook his head. It didn't matter. He was alone again. His tears joined the rain.

Then the damn monkey whacked him on the head.

"What was that for?" Tony growled. "I saved the Pridelands. What are you hitting me for?"

Kate chuckled. "Are you just going to leave Ziva there?"

"She's dead." Tony squeezed his eyes shut. "I can't help her. And I can't bear to see…"

"She's not dead." Kate dragged him to the ledge. "See? She landed on that ledge down there. Her leg's broken, but she'll be all right."

"Ziva?" Tony leaned over the edge. "Ziva!"

"Tony?" She groaned, squinting up at him.

"I'm coming! Hold on!" Carefully, he slid down the rock to her side. He laid down beside her. His legs were shaking too badly to hold him. "You all right?"

"I'm starting to really hate my curse." She joked as she tried to move her broken leg. She clenched her teeth and shut her eyes against the pain. "I should have just let you kiss me."

"Yeah." He laid an almost tender paw on her side. "You should have."

She purred quietly, wishing that she were still in a form that would allow her to show human affection. Kate swung down onto the ledge beside them with a warm smile on her face. "We never met, Ziva. But I am glad that you are there to take care of Tony for me."

Ziva blinked up at her with a feline smile on her face. "I wish I could have known you, Kate. I think, perhaps, we might have been friends."

"No, no. Not quite friends." Kate laughed. "Unless you would consider an anti-DiNozzo alliance."

"Kate…" Tony sat up. "What happens now?"

"What do you mean?" Kate shrugged. "Surely you've seen this movie, Tony."

"Ziva won't survive out here with that leg." Tony glared. "And if she dies…so will I."

"You're right. There's no happily ever after here." Kate gestured to the swirling clouds with her stick and they began to descend toward them. "Did you learn your lesson?"

"What lesson?" Tony sneered. "This was all just a dream, wasn't it?"

"Just a dream, DiNozzo?" Kate leaned toward him. When the misty clouds touched her, the baboon dissolved into the human Kate he'd known. But she was different. There was a peaceful glow about her that pulsed like the sun. An angelic aura surrounded her that was so bright that light itself was all she needed to wear to preserve her modesty. A glowing white cross floated on an insubstantial chain around her neck. "What do you believe?"

The clouds touched Ziva with the same gentleness. When they receded, she sat up and looked exactly as she had the last time Tony had seen her. Tony's throat worked with emotion as he reached out to touch her. By the time his paw reached Ziva, it had transformed into a human hand. They embraced one another as the once gentle clouds began to whirl about them in a frenzy as if to pull them apart again. But the harder the wind pulled, the harder they held on to each other.

"Let go, Tony." Kate murmured as her physical body disappeared behind a wall of light. "You'll never be apart. In your heart, you'll always find them."

"I'm not letting you go!" Tony yelled at Ziva. "I won't!"

"It's okay, Tony." His partner relaxed her grip. "We'll find each other."

"You can't go back to Israel." Tony shook his head. "I can't go back to my ship. Let us stay, here and now. Forever."

Her eyes darkened. "Tony, this is just a dream."

"It doesn't matter." He glared. "Nothing matters but this. Ziva, I—"

"It's time, DiNozzo." Kate's voice called. "Have faith. Trust her."

"It's okay." Ziva repeated, quieter. "I can take care of myself."

He swallowed, almost unable to breathe within the vortex. Then, with a heavy heart, he relaxed his grip until he was holding onto her by her fingertips. "We'll find each other."

Ziva nodded. He let go. She disappeared.

And with her went the light, the rain, the shadows, the Pridelands and the memory of all he'd seen or done that night. There was only darkness and a new beginning.

-

Yeehaw! How was that kiddies?

I hope I didn't lose anyone by making Vance and Ari merge into the same bad guy. I have the identity of my enemies change a lot in dreams and I think that's fairly universal so I used the switch to represent the transitory nature of dreams. I know, I'm getting all philosophical and shit now, aren't I? :)

I know all my Tiva readers are probably furious right now, but there's a reason why I didn't close the gap with Tony and Ziva.

I'm thinking about doing an encore if enough people want one. So I'll leave this open for now. Let's say when/if I get seventy-five reviews I'll write and post another world. (We're sitting at sixty-seven at the time of posting and there's well over twenty chapters so that's a fairly small goal. Make sure you reviewed every chapter!) I already have a world in mind but you can post ideas if you like. When/If I get ninety reviews I'll make a complete sequel.

But for now, this is the "official" end of the story.

What did you think?

Review and let me know!


	26. TEASER!

Okay folks, we're still about fifteen reviews from the goal so make sure you've reviewed them all and we'll be able to get some real new content up. :)

Just to motivate you I thought I'd post a teaser of sorts. So here we go!

_The Journey is About to End_

_Or has it just Begun?_

_We are where once we were_

_But the world is wrong_

_The things we thought we knew_

_Have all been turned downside up_

_The Dead have Arisen_

_The Living Don't Exist_

_And the Playboy with his Little Girl_

_Begins to Long for True Love's Kiss_

Kind of an impromptu riddle. Can you figure it out? Does it make you a little more curious? Hmm?

Please don't forget to review every chapter! I want to keep writing this baby as much as you all want to keep reading!

I even lowered my goal but it ain't going any lower so throw me a bone here and hit that button like there's no tomorrow!

Lots of love to those of you who are reviewing, thanks so much!


	27. True Love's Kiss

True Love's Kiss

_When you meet the someone_

_Who is meant for you_

_Before two can become one_

_There's something you must do_

_Tony! Hey, DiNozzo! _Tony woke to a sharp slap across the back of his head. He sat up immediately, still caught the grip of his nightmares. Blinking, he rubbed his sore head and searched the area for clues about his whereabouts. It seemed that he was back in the bullpen. An empty desk sat across from him, and a rather irritable looking McGee stood at Tony's side with his hand raised in preparation for another blow. Tony blocked the attack with a glare. "I'm up! What's the matter with you, Probie?"

"You need to stop sleeping at work." McGee tsked at him.

"Where's Ziva?" Tony asked.

"Who're you talking about, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked as he flew into the bullpen to his desk.

"My partner, Ziva," Tony repeated. "Where is she?"

"Kate's been your partner for the past five years." Gibbs gestured to her desk. "I've never heard of any _Ziva_ at NCIS."

"Kate?" Tony's jaw dropped. "Kate…died. Ari shot her and she…"

"Sounds like you have a new bete noire." The catholic brunette walked into the bullpen with four large cups of coffee. "I assure you, Tony, I'm not dead."

"Other way around, remember?" Gibbs thanked Kate as she handed him his cup. "Kate shot Ari. Saved my life."

"Yeah." McGee grinned. "Nice having an ex-secret service agent on our side, isn't it?"

Kate winked.

"Shouldn't you be going, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked. "I thought you had to pick up Morgan."

"Morgan?" Tony tilted his head. "Who…?"

"Your daughter, Tony." Kate rolled her eyes. "Honestly!"

"My…daughter?" Tony immediately looked at his left hand.

"I think Jeanne shouldn't have been allowed to have children." Kate's eyes gained an almost evil rage. "Leaving the two of you alone like that…divorce is bad enough!" At Gibbs' stare Kate stumbled over her words. "Not that divorce is _that_ bad…"

McGee laughed. "I suppose you completely forgot you have a girlfriend too, didn't you?"

"I do?" Tony froze at the look on his partner's face. "I'm just kidding, Kate! Of course I remember!"

"You'd better." She smirked. "I'll be by around eight to take Morgan to school like we planned."

"Sounds good." Tony quickly gathered his things and made a break for the door, mind spinning. As he rode the elevator down, he tried to remember details about the dark-haired Ziva. Had she truly been just a dream? He could believe it. She'd complemented him so well in so many ways, and the only image of her he could conjure was blurry at best. The woman was too exotic, too beautiful, too…something else to even imagine her. Yeah…she'd been a fantasy, and Kate's death a bete noire in response to his fear of being abandoned again. But why couldn't he remember his little girl?

The more he thought about her though, the more details fell back into place. By the time he got in his car, he knew exactly what was going on with his life. He had it good, all in all and had plans to ask Kate to marry him. She suited him well, although the irony of marrying a catholic woman was comical at best. What would her family think of him?

------

After he picked up his little girl, he began talking to her about everything he'd been thinking about in regard to Kate, especially his intention to marry her. Morgan was dubious about the whole idea, and quite concerned about how a new mother would impact her life.

"She's not going to be your new mother," Tony assured her. "She's just going to help me teach you all the stuff you need to know. Like some of the girly things that I don't get."

"Okay," she mumbled and began staring out the window, not at all pleased by the idea. "Daddy! Look! There's a princess on the Castle billboard!"

"It's just a dummy," Tony said.

"No! It's a real princess! Pull over!" Morgan hit him. "Now!"

"Okay, okay." Tony parked the car along the street and got out. He took Morgan's hand in his and walked with her up to the billboard. "See? She's not…oh…" As they got closer Tony realized that, in fact, there was a spectacularly drunk woman in her wedding dress knocking on the door of the fake castle on the sign and asking for some guy named Edward. "You're right, Morgan…there's somebody up there. But I don't think she's a princess."

"What are you doing up there?" Morgan shouted. The woman turned to see who was yelling at her, but in her drunken stupidity, stepped right off the edge of the sign. "Catch her, Daddy!"

Tony rushed toward the sign at full throttle and barely managed to get there in time. He caught the woman in his arms but the momentum caused them both to tumble to the ground in a huge mess of tangled limbs. "Ouch! Are you okay?"

"I am fine." She brushed herself off. "I think I may be a little lost."

"I'll say." He helped her to her feet. Then, he looked into her eyes and saw the sheen of pure drunkenness creating a filmy haze over her eyes. "Can I call someone for you?"

"I do not think they would hear you out here."

"Great," he led her to the car. "You just think about that for me, okay? Anyone who can take care of you. Anyone at all."

"Edward!" She exclaimed, wiggling out of his arms. "I have to find Edward."

"Does Edward have a phone number?"

"Phone number?" Her brow furrowed in thought. "Phone number…"

"Can't she stay with us, Daddy?" Morgan asked. "Please?"

"No!" Tony glared. "Absolutely not."

----------

It is a proven fact that little girls never lose a debate with their fathers. They hold a certain unnatural power that forbids fathers to deny their stupidest desires. So it should come as no surprise that Tony did, in fact, drive the mysterious woman to his apartment and ended up carrying her up two flights of stairs because she paused out. While Morgan got ready for bed, he laid the woman down on the couch and then sat across from her in his easy chair, pondering what to do. Was it wise to let a complete stranger pass out on his couch for the night? What would Kate think?

He left briefly to tuck Morgan into bed. When he returned to the living room with all intentions of kicking the woman out onto the curb, he noticed that she had moved slightly and exposed the charm of her necklace. It was a silver star of David. Recognition lit into him for a moment, a quick flash and it was gone. Instead, he found his eyes raking across every inch of her body with a hunger that offended him. He caught himself just before he reached out to run his fingers through her dark, curly hair. Appalled by himself, he turned his back on the woman and walked back to his room. He'd already planned on having Morgan sleep with him for the night, but since he hadn't the heart to boot the drunken harlot out, he found himself grateful that he had already taken precautions.

First thing in the morning, that woman was going to go. And all her temptations with her.

-------

Okay, for those of you who don't recognize the song/setting yet…this section is going to be based off of Enchanted. I will proudly admit that I adored the movie and since the first time I saw it have been trying to work NCIS characters into the respective roles. In all reality, I'm still going against the grain a bit. A lot got altered. Slightly obvious who the "drunken harlot" is, isn't it? She's a bizarre choice for the role, isn't she? Curious to see how I make it work? You know you are!

Review!


	28. Happy Working Song

Happy Working Song

__

How we all enjoy

Letting loose with a little

La-da-dum-da-dum

Tony had seen so many movies that there wasn't a great deal in life that caught him off guard, but this completely threw him for a loop. He could only stand there, jaw agape while he watched the black-haired woman traipse about the house with a feather duster in one hand and a half-empty bottle of Jack Daniel's in the other. A swarm of rats and cockroaches scurried after her as if equally entranced. On top of everything, the woman was _singing._ Pretty well for someone who'd probably already consumed more than her fair share of liquor too.

"What are you doing?" Tony finally managed.

Cheerfully, she whipped around to face him. "Good morning! I was just doing a little tidying up."

"You're already drinking?" He pointed to the bottle in her hand. "The sun's barely up yet and you've already raided my emergency supply of booze?"

"Oh, I am terribly sorry. Were you saving this?" She held up the bottle and squinted as she eyeballed the label. "It's good. You have taste."

"I shouldn't have let you stay here." He snatched the whiskey from her and began shoving her toward the door. "I let a drunken pied piper into my damn apartment and look what happened! I know better than this!" The vermin followed the pair of them out the door before they scattered, no longer intent on witnessing the scene. "You have to go. Now."

"I suppose you're right." She sighed. "Edward will be looking for me."

"Who's Edward?"

"My Prince Charming. We were supposed to get married yesterday but…well…actually, I do not remember what happened. How did I get here?" She glanced up and down the sidewalk as Tony shoved her out of the building. Then, horrified, she whirled around to face him. "Did we sleep together?"

"No!" Tony shook his head. "I found you trying to walk into a painting on a billboard and my daughter insisted on letting you stay the night and I stupidly agreed."

"That does sound strange."

"It was."

"Why would you let a complete stranger pass out on your couch?" She asked. "Is that the best situation to put your little girl in?"

"Oh!" He swore. "I'm not having this argument with you. Just go, all right? Have a nice life."

"Wait." She caught his arm as he tried to go back in side.

"What?" He glared into her warm chocolate eyes, annoyance virtually oozing out of him.

She gawked at him for a moment. When she caught his eye a deep, horrible pang struck in the pit of her stomach. The shock didn't last long, but it was strong enough to cancel out what little bit of a buzz she'd managed to attain that morning. She remembered why she'd been drinking so much and immediately wished she could pilfer more of the man's whisky. "What's your name?"

After a short pause, he answered. "Tony."

"Tony…" Her eyelids lowered for a moment as she struggled with the information. There was something undeniably familiar about him, and she knew she should know him…but the name meant nothing to her. If she'd ever known him, the memory was gone. And, for whatever reason, she mourned the loss. "My name is Ziva David."

Recognizing the name from his dream, Tony took a step back from the woman. "Ziva?"

"Yes."

Skepticism coated his silver eyes as he searched her expression for signs of deception. For all he knew, he'd said the name in his sleep and she'd overhead. Then, remembering how incredibly drunk she had been last night, he dismissed the idea as paranoia. "Well, good luck then, Ziva." He shook her hand and turned around to return to his apartment and get his little girl ready for school.

"Wait." She grabbed his arm.

"What now?" Tony glared. The woman shouldn't have been able to command his attention like this, but he felt helpless to do anything other than obey her request. He had to listen to her.

"I…" she hesitated and glanced down at the pooffy dress she was wearing. "I hate to ask but…do you have some clothes I could borrow?"

His jaw twitched. For a moment, it looked like he'd tell her to go straight to hell. Then, he sighed and gestured for her to follow him back inside. "I'm sure I can find something for you."

------

Okay, here was where beggars couldn't be choosers, Ziva reminded herself as she held the tacky gown out at arms length. It was, by far, the least attractive thing she'd ever seen. The dress was shapeless and frumpy, cut from a once promising denim fabric. Cat-like stick-creatures had been embroidered toward the top of the dress while building blocks and an apple decorated the bottom. Tony had generously allowed her to utilize the bathroom so she could clean up before donning the ugly thing, so she had immediately showered and now stood staring at the dress wearing nothing but a towel. Were clothes really all that necessary?

"Are you about done in there?" Tony knocked on the door. He'd started to panic. Kate would be there any minute and she would not like this.

Ziva bit back her request for _anything_ else to wear and dropped her towel to put the dress on. She had just pulled down the zipper when the door opened. With a squeal of surprise, she jumped back to avoid getting her toes run over by the swinging door and held the dress to her chest like a shield. "Tony!"

"Oh! Sorry." His eyes widened but he seemed incapable of shutting the door. He just kept staring at her. "You didn't answer and I—"

"It's okay, Tony." She waved at him with one hand. "As you can see, I was just getting dressed."

"Yeah." He started to glance down at her partially shielded body only to stop himself and quickly return his eyes to her face.

Beginning to get impatient with the man, she tapped her foot. "Would you like to watch?"

A crooked grin nearly split his face in half but before he could answer, a female voice called his name from the foyer. "Oh shit, Kate's here."

"Kate?" Ziva squinted as she struggled to place the name. There was something familiar about it, but again, she couldn't place it no matter how hard she tried.

"She's going to kill me." Tony rubbed his forehead. "You were supposed to be gone before she showed up."

"Well, I am quite sorry that you were so generous," Ziva snapped. "But things might look a lot better for you if she didn't find you in here with a naked woman!"

"How is any of this my fault?" Tony shot back.

"Tony, you're about to look like a very unfaithful boyfriend. If I were you, I would shut the damn door." Ziva gave him a shove into the hallway and quickly locked the door behind him.

And not a moment too soon, Tony realized as Kate appeared at the end of the hallway with a nervous smile on her face. "I thought I heard you talking to someone."

"Yeah…" Tony leaned against the door. "I…uh…"

"Is there a woman in there?" The humor was gone from Kate's face. "Are you relapsing on me _again?_"

"_Again?_" Tony gaped. Why couldn't he remember _that?_

"Are you?" Kate scowled as she reached for the bathroom door.

He blocked her, now pressing all his weight against the door as if that would keep it shut. "Kate I can—Ack!" he squawked as the door swung inward, sending him straight to the floor.

Ziva gave him a little kick before stepping around him and embracing Kate in a hug. "Katie! I'm so excited to meet you at last! Tony's told me so much about you!"

"He has?" Kate raised an eyebrow.

"Absolutely! I'm his cousin, Ziva." Ziva held her out at arms length. "Wow, you _are_ pretty. I don't think you give her enough credit, Tony."

"Yeah…" Scratching his head, he exited the bathroom to join the two women in the hallway.

"His cousin?" Kate looked her over. "What do you do for a living?"

Ziva glanced at her frumpy little dress as well before drawing herself up with as much pride as she could muster and announcing, "I teach."

"Funny, he never mentioned he had a…teacher for a cousin." Kate gestured.

"Really?" Ziva smacked Tony on the back of the head. "Why not?"

"Hey!" He rubbed the back of his head, glowering at her. "What's the matter with you?"

"We'll have to talk about this another time." Kate marched back to the front door. "I assume you and your _cousin_ are taking Morgan to school."

"Kate, wait," Tony held the door shut so she couldn't escape. "I thought you were taking Morgan. You know, for some grown-up girl bonding time?"

"You really expect me to believe that that woman is your cousin?" Kate sneered.

Tony considered it for a moment. "No, but apparently she thinks you would."

"I've had it, Tony. This isn't going to work." Kate shoved him out of the way and stomped out the door.

"Kate!" He chased her halfway down the stairs before his daughter caught him by the shirt.

"Daddy," the little girl tugged on his shirt again. "We have to get ready for school."

"You're right, Morgan." Sighing, he tousled her hair and walked back up to the apartment with her. "What a day."

"I'm sorry." Ziva said as she stood in the entryway. "I don't want to cause you any more trouble. I should go."

"Yes you should." Tony grunted as he shepherded Morgan inside. "Have a nice life, Ziva David."

The door slammed in her face. She flinched. Then, with a sense of unreality she touched the door. Her eyes dilated. "DiNozzo." As if she'd been burned, she recoiled and backed away from the apartment. It wasn't right. Something was wrong with this entire situation and she didn't like it one bit. "What's going on?" She mumbled, holding her head. The image of a dark, diabolical beast loomed in the back of her mind. It inched ever closer, mouth open and emerald fire licking within the depths of its throat. Ziva turned on her heal and ran. She fled the building and didn't stop until she'd lost herself within a local park.

------

Oohhh….what am I going to do, hmm?

Why do you suppose Ziva is drinking so much?

Three chapters to go!

Review and let me know how it's going! I should be getting a lot more reviews than I am considering how high the traffic is on this fic!


	29. How Does She Know?

How Does She Know?

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It's not enough to take the one you love

For granted

Kate had been avoiding him. Tony had no idea how the woman managed to evade him all day when her damn desk was right across from him…but she did. He didn't see her a single time that day. Frustrated and miserable, he left the bullpen early to wander through the park before picking Morgan up from school. He'd made it halfway through when he spotted an insanely drunk woman in a denim dress singing and dancing beneath a light post.

"Oh hell," Tony swore. It wasn't enough to hope that he'd never see the witch again. In less than half a day, their paths had crossed again. For a moment, he considered running away or diving behind a bush in order to avoid being recognized. He hesitated too long though, and she stopped in mid-verse to swagger over to him with a clumsy version of what was probably, when she was sober, a very sexy walk. As it was, she looked absolutely ridiculous.

"Hello again, my little hairy butt," she chuckled before taking a swig of a nearly empty whisky bottle. Apparently someone had felt generous or overly comfortable with the security of their liquor in the park. "Did you make out with Kate yet?"

"Make out?" Tony made a face. "She's furious with me!"

"I'm sorry, it's the English." She waved dismissingly. "I was asking if she was still mad at you or not."

"Oh…you meant did we make_ up_?"

"Yes!" She grinned triumphantly. "That's it!"

"She's avoiding me." Tony sighed. "I can't really blame her. Before we started going out I was a little bit of a—"

"Man whore?"

"Of course, you would get that one right," he laughed. "How'd you guess?"

"You let a strange, heavily intoxicated woman pass out on your couch." She smirked. "It wasn't difficult to figure out."

"And look how my generosity is repaid." Tony threw his hands in the air. "Shouldn't this karma thing have kicked in by now?"

"I think it has." She stared at him with an unreadable expression before taking another large swig of whisky. "So…what can I do to help?"

"Help?"

"Yes. This situation is partly my fault." She adopted an overly thoughtful expression. "Maybe it would help if you actually understood women."

"I understand women!" Tony made a face.

Ziva laughed at him. "Clearly. After all, your girlfriend has already forgiven you and you're well on your way to a happily ever after."

"Okay, Yoda. What do you think I should do?" he asked. "Not only did she see me with another woman, but then she caught me in a lie."

"Well…actually I was the one that was lying," she pointed out. "But you're right. It makes the situation more difficult."

"And you have a plan?"

"Of course I have a plan." She pulled him deeper into the park by his arm. "Come with me and I'll show you."

"This is not going to make me look any better, Ziva," he griped.

"Oh! There's not going to be any of that. I want to show you something."

"I suppose if you're offering…there's a few things I'd like to see." He commented, raising an eyebrow.

She let go of his arm to step in front of him and unleash a fierce glare. "Can you _try_ to be more mature about this?"

"Sure, Sweet Cheeks," he smirked.

At the familiar endearment she paled. Then, with a nervous laugh, she took another hearty swig from the whisky bottle. She tried to take a second in a row but Tony snatched the bottle away from her. "What do you think you're doing? That's mine."

"You owe me." He glanced inside the bottle as if considering the contents for himself. Then, as they passed a trashcan, he dropped it inside.

Ziva cringed at the sound of breaking glass. "You could have at least drank it."

"Too early in the day. Maybe later." He hesitated before barreling into the question that had been nagging him since they'd met. "Why are you drinking so much, anyway?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Obviously." Tony forced her to sit down on the park bench. "But you're going to talk about it. What's the matter with you?"

"So many things." She clenched her hands as if trying to hold onto something before it could slip away. Given how much liquor she'd imbibed, that thing she was struggling to hold on to could have very well just been her current train of thought.

"You mentioned Edward before. Is it about him?" Tony asked.

She hesitated. "Yes. We were going to get married and then go back to Israel."

"Israel?"

"I'm Mossad."

"Ah…" He nodded. "I'm with NCIS."

"Yes, I know." Ziva glanced around discretely to see if anyone was listening. "I was Ari's control officer before he—"

"Completely lost it?"

"Before he was killed." She glared at him before looking down at her hands. "He had me do a dossier of everyone he might interact with at NCIS. That's why your name sounded so familiar to me."

"Then…you know my girlfriend is the one that killed him." At her nod, Tony sighed. "Were you close to that bastard?"

"Very." She adopted a rather vacant look. "He was my brother."

"Sorry."

"I'm used to losing the ones I love." She let out a deep breath. "Almost, anyway."

"How can you ever be _used to_ something like that?"

"In my line of work, I have to be."

"I suppose." Without thinking, Tony laid a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. "So what are you doing here?"

"Honestly?"

"Yes."

"I'm here to kill Agent Todd to avenge my brother."

He recoiled. "You're not serious."

"I am." Her eyes narrowed. "I almost had her last night but she…I don't know the right word. But there was fire everywhere and then…she ate him."

"What?" Tony laughed. "First of all, Ari was buried in Israel, wasn't he? I doubt Kate would have shipped his remains here to have a barbecue."

"She didn't eat Ari." Ziva shook her head. "She ate Edward."

"Do you mean she…" Tony's jaw twitched. "Gave him a…uh…mmm…because she wouldn't even do that for me. Not that I asked. Maybe if I asked…"

"What on earth are you talking about?" Ziva stared at him as if he'd sprouted a second head. "I cannot be any clearer than I am being right now. She swallowed my fiancé in one bite. Gone! In the mouth, down the throat!"

"And she was getting on _my _case for cheating." Tony fumed. "When I get my hands on her, I swear I'll…!"

"Dragon! That's the word! She was a dragon." Ziva gave him a shake. "A big, fire-puking dragon!"

"That makes even less sense than Kate giving Edward some sort of—"

"I do not want to _know_ what you think I was talking about." Ziva pulled her gun out of its holster and checked to make sure it was loaded. All people within twenty yards of them ran away screaming. "I have to kill her before she destroys everything."

"Like Godzilla did in Tokyo?"

"Tony!"

"I'm sorry, Ziva. I'm not letting you kill my girlfriend." He grabbed the barrel of the gun, then froze when he heard an ominous clicking. "Are you _seriously_ trying to shoot me right now?"

She pulled the trigger again. "Let go."

"I'm doing no such thing." He yanked the gun closer, pulling her off balance. She fell against his chest and, because she was clinging so tightly to the gun, she ended up flat against his chest with her mouth centimeters away from his. She stared in his eyes, unalarmed by their close proximity. Tony, however, was not as unaffected by the sudden lack of space between them. In fact, he began to gravitate closer until the space between them couldn't be measured. He could taste her breath on his lips and it drove him out of his mind. Just before he lost himself entirely to his less desirable side, he heard a series of clicks. Laughing, he pulled away. "Okay, that time, I deserved it."

Ziva swore at him. _Click, click, click!_ "Would you take your hands off my gun?"

"No. I don't trust you to use it responsibly." He laughed again as the clicks continued. "Keep it up, Ziva. The safety's on." Then he heard an entirely different kind of click and let go of the gun. His hands went straight into the air. "Okay, Ziva? Promise me you'll wait until you're sober before you do anything, okay? Please? Sweet Cheeks?"

She glared at him. For a moment it seemed that she might just shoot him. Then, her eyes softened. She struggled with herself a moment longer before she put the safety back on her gun and holstered it. "I won't enjoy my vengeance if I can't remember it."

"That's a good girl." He slowly lowered his arms, afraid of what a sudden movement might do to the crazy chick. "Now you're thinking clearly."

"Tony, if you'd seen that thing…"

"Shh…let's think about something nicer." He led her over to the fountain. "You said you were going to help me get Kate to forgive me."

"Yes. I have an idea." A slow smirk crossed her face. "But before I tell you, you must promise to agree."

-

Ah, another chapter bites the dust. How're we doing kiddies? Liking it?

What do you think? Is Ziva crazy or did Kate really eat her poor Edward?

Stay tuned and Review!


	30. So Close

So Close

__

Life goes by

Romantic dreams must die

So I bid mine goodbye

And never knew

"Why didn't I think of this?" Tony muttered to himself as he rode the elevator back up to the bullpen. "Oh yeah…I hate balls, that's why."

"Strange, I thought you liked your balls." Ziva commented.

He flashed her a look that displayed all one hundred and one names he'd have loved to have called her in that moment. "I don't quite see how you being here is going to help."

"As I said before, I am your sister and I'm here in town for the ball."

"I thought you were my cousin."

"Am I?"

"This is stupid. I should have left you in the park."

She grimaced. "Probably, I guess."

"You have a date for this ball, _Sis?_ Or are we hoping _my_ date vomits him up?" Tony grumbled.

"I will find one, _Cousin_." She tapped him on the cheek. "Do not worry so much."

"Worry? Me? Nah! I'm all Hakuna Matata all the time." Tony tugged on his collar nervously.

"What does that mean?" she asked. "I've never heard that phrase before."

He stared at her with a stupid look on his face. "You're kidding."

"Never mind. I'll just use a dictionary," she mumbled.

"You've never seen _The Lion King?_" He shut off the power to the elevator. "Disney movie? 1998? Jeremy Irons? Jonathan Taylor Thomas? Very popular? Inspired the first animatronic float in Disneyland? My god, you're serious, aren't you? You don't have any idea what I'm talking about!"

A look of concern crossed her face. "Do you have a mental problem?"

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Israeli-ninja-chick probably wouldn't get into cute fuzzy animals."

"I prefer humans." Now the concern was replaced by horror. "Don't you?"

"Well, yeah. But that was a kick-ass movie." He paused, finally interpreting her expression. "Get your mind out of the gutter! It's a kid movie!"

"You watch kid movies, DiNozzo?"

"I've got a kid don't I?"

"That is true." She chuckled nervously. "But I don't have any children. Why should you expect me to have seen that movie?"

"Come on! It's a classic." Then, he stopped to scratch his head. "Actually…come to think of it…why_ would_ I expect you to have seen it?"

Ziva reached past him to turn the elevator back on. "We can't stay in here all day talking about cartoons. You have to convince Kate that we are not lying."

"Why are you so intent on having us make up if you want to kill her?" Tony asked.

She gave him a blank stare. "I owe you this."

"But you still plan on killing her." He pointed out. "Won't this hurt me more than it'll help?"

"You could go to the ball with me instead, if you like."

He laughed and in his fit of merriment missed the look of hurt that briefly lit her eyes. "Sorry, Ziva. You're not my type."

"Right. Kate's more puritanical." Ziva mumbled.

"What?" Tony straightened. "What did you just say?"

She went rigid. "I don't meet your standards. You see me as a drunken whore with three guns and a knife hidden under my dress."

"How many guns did you just say you have?"

"Three."

He eyeballed her, looking for any suspicious bulges. "_Where?_"

"Don't." She lifted his chin, forcing him to look her in the eyes. "I am not as loose as you think I am, no matter how much I've had to drink already."

"Is that a fact?"

"Absolutely." She gave a firm nod. "If you tried anything, you'd get a nice, hard slap in the face."

"This coming from the girl that just asked me out?"

"I did not!" She grimaced. "I was only saying that you and I have already paid for tickets. As far as I'm concerned, that witch can go ahead and eat you."

"And I hope she does."

"You're disgusting."

The elevator doors opened and the pair marched over to the bullpen. Kate was, as expected, no where in sight, so Tony began picking on McGee while Ziva went to the women's bathroom in search of her prey. Then, the assassin wandered down to the training area where she spotted her target beating on a punching bag. Ziva tied up her hair and made her way across the gym to Kate. Fury gleamed in the assassin's eyes. She had a perfect shot. An easy kill. She nearly took it. Then, believing that she would enjoy the kill more up close and personal, Ziva slipped into the changing room. She pilfered a set of workout clothes that seemed fairly clean and changed before returning to the mats.

"Agent Todd!" Ziva barked.

Kate whirled around to face her. "Oh, look. It's Tony's cousin."

"There you are!" Tony ran over to them, deliberately placing himself between the two girls. "Hey, Cos. I've been looking everywhere for you. You find a date yet?"

"A date?" Kate raised an eyebrow.

"I'm in town for the ball." Ziva sighed, mourning the loss of her opportunity. "But I don't have a date yet. I've always wanted to go."

"I thought we could double," Tony added. "I wanted to take you, Kate."

"He was going to ask you when you came to the apartment this morning but you got the wrong impression."

"Forgive me, Katie?"

"Don't call me that." Kate groaned. "All right, I forgive you. Do you still want to go to the ball?"

"Yeah!" He lied.

"Then we'll go. When is it?" She asked.

"Uh…" Tony glanced at Ziva.

"Tomorrow evening." Ziva sighed again. "I don't suppose you know of any decent, available men do you, Kate?"

"Well, there's McGee." Kate suggested. "He's a great guy. Handsome too."

"Probie? Handsome?" Tony made a face. At Kate's glare, Tony adopted a sheepish look. "Yeah! He's handsome! If the computer geek thing does it for you."

"Talking about computers can't be any worse than you and your movie problem." Ziva shook a finger at him. "Honestly! There are days I'm ashamed to be related to you!"

-----

So…will Ziva kill Kate?

Will McGee and Ziva hit it off?

How does all this tie into the rest of Kingdom Crossover?

Remember to review each chapter! I'm not posting again until I get some feedback so click that button!

Review quick so I can post the next chapter!!! It's going to be awesome!!!


	31. Ever After

Ever After

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Sometimes you reach what's realest

By making believe

Tony fancied himself a lucky bastard as he whirled Kate around on the dance floor. She was costumed in a beautiful, flowing medieval gown sown from a rich brown fabric with gilded thread. The outfit brought out the color of her hair and the love in her eyes. He held her close as they danced, to keep her safe from rival males that might have otherwise chosen to cut in. He wouldn't share his girl with anyone. In fact, tonight, he knew he'd propose for sure. At the end of the dance he gave her a soft kiss and reminded her for the umpteenth time how beautiful she looked tonight.

Then, he looked up at the staircase and his jaw nearly fell right off his face. McGee descended the staircase, wearing the most ridiculous looking costume that Tony had ever seen. And on his arm, beaming as he spoke to her, was the single most incredible creature he'd ever laid eyes on. To call her beautiful was an insult to how truly magnificent she was. Tony didn't notice what she was wearing. Her expression, the laughter in her eyes and the confidence that radiated off of her cast such an aura around the woman that all the world faded behind her brilliance. She was the only thing on the earth that existed. And her name was Ziva David.

"You clean up nice, Cousin." Ziva commented as she and McGee walked up to the pair already on the dance floor.

Tony forced himself to shut his mouth. He swallowed and tried to say something but nothing came out.

"Speechless, huh?" McGee smirked.

Tony finally shook his stupor enough to laugh. "Yeah. That is a…_special_ outfit you've got, Probie."

"At least I'm not wearing a codpiece." McGee vaguely gestured toward Tony's trousers.

"Meh! It was the only outfit left at the shop we checked out." Tony shrugged. "Why are you eyeballing my codpiece, McGee?"

McGee wisely chose to ignore the question and turned to his date instead. "Well, Ziva, shall we?"

"Of course." Ziva took his hand and slid a sly glance at Tony. "We've kept these two love birds long enough."

Tony caught her arm before she could vanish into the crowd. "Actually, would you mind if I had the first dance before you stole my cousin?"

"Kate?" McGee glanced at her nervously.

"All right." Kate nodded as she traded places with Ziva. "Don't wear him out, Ziva."

"I'll try not to." Ziva watched her date leave with her assassination target before taking Tony's hand. "Why did you do that?"

"Do I need a reason?" Tony asked.

"You have one."

"Who are you, Ziva David?" He whispered as the band began to play a smooth, silky love song. "Why do I know you?"

"I should ask you the same question." She stared him in the eye, concentrating. "We have never met before and yet…"

"We have to have met before. I _know_ you." As he drew her into a waltz position, he purposely guided her hand to his heart. "You're a drunken killer ninja-chick after my girlfriend's head…but I _trust_ you. Your judgement. It doesn't make any sense."

"Maybe in another world, we'd have been…friends."

"Another world…" Tony paused in mid-step as recognition swarmed through him. "That's it. This isn't real. _This_ is the dream."

"A dream." Ziva shook her head. "This is too real to be a dream."

"Kate didn't kill Ari. Ari killed Kate. And then you came to NCIS." He grinned. "_You're_ my partner."

"Then…why am I still so angry with her?" Ziva asked.

"I don't know. Just because you're my partner doesn't mean I know what goes on in your head. You never even met Kate." Tony twirled her in an attempt to get her mind off the matter.

"Maybe it's because I've always wondered if your life would have been better if Kate were still alive." Ziva admitted. "Look at all of this, Tony. You have a child, a woman you want to marry…"

"And what does any of that have to do with you?"

She squeezed his shoulder. "Nothing. It's just an observation."

"Are you jealous?" he grinned.

"Me? Ha! Never." Ziva tried to escape his embrace only to find his hand holding her arm in a vice-like grip. "Let me go, DiNozzo."

"Not a chance." He shook his head.

"Dream or not, I have a job to do and I'm going to do it." Ziva glared. "I'd rather not kill you to do it, but I will if I must."

"Stop," Kate commanded. A strange glow began to pulse around her as she walked back toward them with McGee at her side. "Ziva, don't do this to yourself. This isn't you."

"How would you know?" Ziva twisted around to face the angelic figure. "Do you have any idea what I've been through, Kate? All of this is your fault!"

"My fault? _Well…_" Kate laughed. "Excuse me for dying, but it still wasn't me who shot your brother."

Ziva let out a shriek of primal fury and launched herself at Kate. A wall of smoky, green and yellow flames engulfed her body for a moment. Then, when the Mossad liaison emerged from her fiery cocoon, she was no longer human. A great black dragon screeched and leapt through the veil of fire in her place. She swept the room with her tail, dissolving anything that came into contact with her skin. After too quick swipes only Kate, Tony, McGee and the black dragon herself remained. Ziva hissed as she drew her neck back for a lethal strike against the iridescent spirit. Tony leapt in front of her, flailing his arms almost comically.

"Ziva! What the hell are you doing?" He yelled.

"Well, she did say she wanted to be Maleficent, didn't she?" McGee muttered as he cowered behind DiNozzo. "I take it you haven't kissed her yet, have you?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Tony turned on the trembling probie with disgust on his face.

"Curse!" McGee pointed. "That's kind of obvious, don't you think?"

Ziva opened her mouth, revealing a glowing ball of emerald fire about to leap from her jaws. The pulsing sphere let off a terrible glow that lit the entire room in a sick, smoggy light. Horrified, Tony began to do his crazy dance again but Ziva wasn't paying attention to him at all.

"So be it!" Kate roared and leapt over her former coworkers' heads. In midflight, she morphed into a purple dragon only slightly smaller than the black. With the flames of transformation still tickling her sides, Kate plowed into Ziva and the two beasts tumbled out the window in a mess of claws and wings.

"Shit!" Tony ran over to the broken window to stare at the street below, searching for any sign of the women. "Do you see them, Probie?"

McGee looked up, scanning the towers above them rather than the ground below. In a flash of lightning, he spotted two dragons curled around the western spire, jaws agape and claws slashing. "There!"

Tony followed McGee's line of sight. Then, without a rational thought in his head, he crawled out onto the window sill and began to climb up the slick roof.

"What are you doing?" McGee yelled.

"Come on! A supernatural catfight between Kate and Ziva? I ain't missing this." Tony joked as he continued to crawl up the roof toward the draconian battleground. A black foot struck the ground inches from his head as the purple dragon knocked Ziva backward onto the roof. Tony rolled just in time to avoid being crushed beneath her back.

Ziva roared in frustration, something sinister glowing in her eyes. "Why do you fight me? You're dead anyway!"

"Exactly." The pink dragon huffed. "Don't you have any respect for the dead?"

Ziva hissed, pulling her lips back in an ugly snarl. "None of this is real. Not even you. I want you gone, Kate! I want you to stay dead and leave us alone."

"I would." Kate smirked, taking a step back. "But you don't seem to be doing so well on your own. You could use a little push."

"And what does toying with Tony accomplish." Ziva snapped. "He'll wake up alone on that ship. You'll be gone. You'll be dead. His child won't exist. Why would you do this? Why? Why remove my guilt for a moment only to return it ten-fold?"

Kate chuckled. "You may not like me, Ziva. But it is only when we are called to rise that we know how tall we stand. It wasn't _nice_ of me to torment Tony like this…but you'll thank me for it someday."

"And what about Ari?" Ziva demanded, her whole body shaking with repressed rage. "You expect me to thank you for _that_ someday?"

"I was only answering a question that you, yourself have asked time and again." Kate sighed. "Hate me for it if you want, but this is the truth. If I had killed Ari instead of you, you would have sought vengeance against me. And you still would have fallen in love with Tony."

Ziva bared her teeth. "You're wrong. I don't love him. Either in this world or the other."

"Oh yes you do, or you would not be so protective of him." Kate smirked. "Love is not something we choose. It just happens. Whether you love him as a brother, as I did, or a lover doesn't matter. You care about him. And you only hurt yourself when you deny it. So tell me now, Miss David. Who are you really fighting right now? Me? Or yourself?"

The black dragon turned her head, spotting Tony on the roof beneath her foot. He was gazing up at her intently, but the emotion on his face was indiscernible. Ziva twisted her body toward him, bending her neck to look closer at him. She watched him with one massive eyeball for a minute before snorting and turning back to Kate. "I'm at war with you, Kate, or your memory at least. I won't forget the trouble you've caused."

"It seems you still have a lot to learn." Kate glanced between Tony and Ziva. "Both of you. But I've done all I can for tonight. Rest now. You'll see me again soon."

The purple dragon lifted her head and dissolved. With her, the entire world began to melt like a chalk drawing in the rain. Tony touched Ziva's front leg gently. "Will you ever just talk to me and tell me what's wrong?"

"I am afraid of being forgotten." Ziva admitted. "I know that we, the team I mean, must be apart now. But I did care about all of you." Her tail swayed as she stepped forward. "I worry that I am not missed, that I meant nothing to the team."

"I miss you." Tony protested.

"Then why haven't you called?"

He had no answer. He simply stood there, staring deep into the sad amber eyes of the dragon. Slowly, the deep rumble of her mournful growl began to morph into the sound of waves striking the metal hull of a navy ship…and the groan of an old safe house creaking in the wind.

-

(For those of you who don't know, a cod piece is a thingy worn over the crotch, popular in medieval times and fairly ridiculous looking. Sort of like a "cup" worn on the outside of the pants.)

That's all folks!

Again, really rather artsy at the end. What did you think I meant? What is the significance of the ending? Is there any foreshadowing for Kingdom Crossover 2 in there?

I will update one more time with a special sneak preview once we hit 110 reviews! That's only 6 more so make sure to hit that button!

Make sure you've reviewed all the chapters! If you have, tell your friends and make them read and review it too!

Thanks for sticking with me all this way everybody! Hope you've enjoyed it!


	32. Sneak Peek!

Special All-New SNEEK PEEK at Kingdom Crossover 2!

First and foremost, I'd like to thank all my readers for their continued support and hope that you enjoyed this bizarre little story. I'm not sure any of us are really sure why it turned out to be so successful. Thanks for taking a chance on Kingdom Crossover. I hope you found it to be an interesting diversion from more sane explorations of the dynamics of the NCIS team. The story you've just read is about 29,000 words, about the size of a novella or mini-novel. That equates to 77 pages types in word. Published and bound, it would be about the size of your average chapter book such as Nancy Drew or Animorphs. Talk about a commitment! Thanks for sticking with me all this way!

Also, a special thanks to my reviewers. I can't tell you how much I love hearing about your favorite parts or if a certain scene missed the mark. This site is one of the most important things that contributes to my growth as a writer and I am extremely grateful for all the lessons I've learned.

Before I show you the teaser I have prepared, I'd like to take a little time to summarize and explain this fanfic and how the Enchanted section relates to what you can expect in the next installment of Kingdom Crossover. (If you don't care to read the reflection, by all means scroll down to the end, but I've hidden some hints in her and the reflection will actually serve as the first chapter of Kingdom Crossover 2. Kinda need a prologue for the rest of it to make sense.)

MAKE SURE YOU ADD ME TO YOUR AUTHOR ALERTS IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHEN KINGDOM CROSSOVER 2 IS POSTED. Personally, I hate having to search everyday for story updates, I know you're no different. Adding me to your alerts means that you'll be less likely to miss the release of Kingdom Crossover 2. And trust me, you don't want to miss it. This next story looks to be even bigger and stronger than this one. So if you've liked it so far, hold on to your knee-high socks, kiddies! We're going back to Disney World!

Reflecting on Kingdom Crossover

When the team began their journey in the world of Oliver and Company, they were divided and struggling to survive on their own. They were desperate, and found themselves becoming a darker version of their normal selves. Once they reunited, though, the world completely fell apart.

They found themselves next in the land of Beauty and the Beast. This was a world all about discovery, where Tony was confronted by a terrifying version of his partner. In seeing a physical manifestation of how intimidating the Israeli could be, he came to realize that she was actually less frightening than she seemed to be. And no matter what, she was his partner and he had to help her. Ziva also realized something. She discovered that her partner just might know her well enough to see through her mask to the soft and fragile spirit she really is.

In the world of the Little Mermaid, stupidity followed hot on the heals of the almost romantic interlude between Tony and Ziva. When Ziva found herself confronted by visions of her past, she was horrified. Then, she realized that just like in real life, in this world she was separated from the rest of the team by the sea. She made a deal with the sea witch so that she could rejoin the team and ended up getting a curse that stayed with her for the rest of the story (and *spoiler* into Kingdom Crossover 2, but I'm sure you already guessed that from the lack of smooching).

The next world was that of Hercules, where Tony realized that he and Ziva were constantly filling the roles of the leading couple. Ziva, as usual, was in denial over the whole deal. Tony wanted to stop taking the dreams so seriously, but Ziva reminded him that even in dreams you shouldn't forget who you are.

In the land of the Lion King, all hell broke loose. Tony had to confront his emotions about Jenny's death and Vance's destruction of the team. But more than that, he and Ziva had a chance to explore a world in which they just might be able to be together. Kate made a surprise appearance, where she imparted to Tony the key lesson of the dreams. That even though the team may be shattered, each and every one of them is connected on a level that distance cannot break. And they will be together again.

Finally, in the Enchanted world, Ziva found herself faced with a long awaited answer. She had always wondered what life would have been like if Kate had killed Ari. Tony had a child and was preparing to propose to Kate when Ziva reappeared to avenge her brother. In a fiery battle between Kate and Ziva, Kate tried to force Ziva to admit her feelings for Tony, but Ziva refused. Ziva realized that somewhere inside her, she is at war with Kate's memory and fears that she is simply not good enough for the team. Though Kate's ghost may not have gotten Ziva to admit everything in that one night, Ziva did admit to Tony that she was afraid of being forgotten and that she worried she meant nothing to the team at all.

KINGDOM CROSSOVER

Summary: Post Judgement Day. The team is still divided even after finding some unity in their last set of shared dreams. Now the team must learn to make sense of the world on their own. Tiva and special secret pairing with Gibbs!

The events of Kingdom Crossover take place in a single night. Likewise, Kingdom Crossover 2 takes place in a single night, just twenty-four hours after the first. Ziva is convinced that she was weakened during her time at NCIS and she is no longer able to live her life because she is too attached to the team she will never be part of again. She struggles to sever herself from the team and relearn how to survive on her own. This is easier said than done, especially with Tony so desperate to keep the team together. Gibbs, Abby, McGee, Tony and Ziva all have their own agendas in this intense story, but they also seem to be moving toward a common goal. Can they go their separate ways or will they inevitably fail if they drift apart?

As an extra treat, I made another riddle for you! See if you can figure it out!

__

A new journey begins

In the darkened nights of Shaharazad

Beneath a laughing moon

Within a shared reflection

Of the two who refuse to be one

Two hearts are broken

One heart is healed

A boy becomes King

And the team's fate is sealed.


End file.
